Magpie perch facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Magpie perch |
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| Scientific classification | |
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Cheilodactylidae
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| Genus: |
Cheilodactylus
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C. nigripes
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| Cheilodactylus nigripes J. Richardson, 1850
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The magpie perch (Cheilodactylus nigripes), magpie morwong or black-striped morwong, is a morwong, found off southern Australia and northern New Zealand from shallow depths to 250 m. Although traditionally included in the genus Cheilodactylus in family Cheilodactylidae, based on genetic and morpological analyses it belongs in its own genus Pseudogoniistius in family Latridae.
Its adult length is between 30 and 50 cm. The species' range in Australian waters extends from Albany in Western Australia to Kiama in New South Wales, including South Australian, Victorian and Tasmanian waters. It lives on rocky reefs, where it feeds upon mollusks, polychaetes and algae. The magpie morwong is able to change its appearance by "turning off" its central black band almost instantly.
- Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2006). "Cheilodactylus nigripes" in FishBase. January 2006 version.
- Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN: 0-00-216987-8
Images for kids
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Juvenile
