The New Zealand flathead, ''Bembrops morelandi'', is a duckbill

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 ...

of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Percophidae, subfamily Bembropinae, found only around

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 ...

, at depths between 365 and 395 m. Their length is up to 20 cm.

Etymology

The flathead is named in honor of John “Jock” Munne Moreland (1921-2012), who was the Curator of Ichthyology and Herpetology at the National Museum of New Zealand, because of his contribution to the study of the fishes of New Zealand.

References

* * Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, ''Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand'', (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) {{Taxonbar, from=Q2302489 Percophidae Endemic marine fish of New Zealand Taxa named by Joseph S. Nelson Fish described in 1978