The brown mudfish (''Neochanna apoda'') is a galaxiid endemic to

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 ...

. The species is found in wetlands in the southwest of the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

and the northern half of the west coast of the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

. It commonly grows to 100–130 mm in length, and it can live to at least 7 years. They are named for their brown color. The dorsal and

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

s of the brown mudfish are very long-based, extending close to the

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

, nearly joining it. It inhabits shallow swamp-forest wetlands. If the water dries out over summer, it is able to

aestivate Aestivation ( la, aestas (summer); also spelled estivation in American English) is a state of animal dormancy, similar to hibernation, although taking place in the summer rather than the winter. Aestivation is characterized by inactivity and a ...

in damp areas, such as under logs and in root holes, until the water returns. In 2014, the New Zealand

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

classified the brown mudfish as "At Risk: Declining" with qualifier "C(1/1) >100,000 mature individuals, predicted decline 10–70%". Also in 2014 the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

rated the brown mudfish as "Endangered".

References

* * NIWA Fish Atla
NIWA June 2006

External links

TerraNature, Auckland 2010

brown mudfish The brown mudfish (''Neochanna apoda'') is a galaxiid endemic to New Zealand. The species is found in wetlands in the southwest of the North Island and the northern half of the west coast of the South Island. It commonly grows to 100–130 m ...

Endemic freshwater fish of New Zealand Taxa named by Albert Günther

{{Osmeriformes-stub