The rock cod (''Lotella rhacina'') is a temperate
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
found off the coasts of southeastern
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
, the
Great Australian Bight
The Great Australian Bight is a large oceanic bight, or open bay, off the central and western portions of the southern coastline of mainland Australia.
Extent
Two definitions of the extent are in use – one used by the International Hydrog ...
and northwards up the southwestern Australia coasts. They are also found around the coasts of
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and California. They belong to the family
Moridae
The Moridae are a family of cod-like fishes, known as codlings, hakelings, and moras.
Morids are marine fishes found throughout the world, and may be found at depths to , although most prefer shallower waters. In appearance, they greatly resembl ...
and are not related to the true
cod
Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...
s (genus ''Gadus''). They are also known as beardie in Australia.
Rock cod are yellow-grey to red-brown with white fin margins. They have chin
barbel Barbel may refer to:
*Barbel (anatomy), a whisker-like organ near the mouth found in some fish (notably catfish, loaches and cyprinids) and turtles
*Barbel (fish), a common name for certain species of fish
**''Barbus barbus'', a species of cyprinid ...
s. They may grow up to 50 cm in length. They are found in caves in bays and coastal reefs. They are frequently found inshore and inhabit shallow waters in the
continental shelf
A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...
with typical depth of 10 to 90 m.
Many other fish species are sometimes called 'rock cod', but most are unrelated to the cod family, and are better known as
grouper
Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes.
Not all serranids are called "groupers"; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name "grouper" is u ...
s.
References
*
*
rock cod
The rock cod (''Lotella rhacina'') is a temperate fish found off the coasts of southeastern Australia, Tasmania, the Great Australian Bight and northwards up the southwestern Australia coasts. They are also found around the coasts of New Zealand ...
Marine fish of Southern Australia
Fish of New Zealand
rock cod
The rock cod (''Lotella rhacina'') is a temperate fish found off the coasts of southeastern Australia, Tasmania, the Great Australian Bight and northwards up the southwestern Australia coasts. They are also found around the coasts of New Zealand ...
Taxa named by Johann Reinhold Forster
{{Gadiformes-stub