Retropinnidae

Retropinna retropinna

The New Zealand salmon ( Retropinnidae ) are a family of smelt -like ( Osmeriformes ). The 7 to 33 inches long expectant fish live in freshwater or brackish water, some species occasionally in the sea. Its distribution area includes New Zealand, Tasmania, the south-east of Australia and the Chatham Islands.

Features

New Zealand salmon are 7 to 33 cm long. Your body is salmon or trout like. You have roundhouse ( cycloid scales ), an adipose fin and a forked caudal fin with 16 branched fin rays. Vomer, palatine bone and Basibranchiale are dentate. A lateral line on the fuselage is missing. Prior to the anus in the abdominal center is a horny Kiel. Pylorusschläuche missing. Only the left gonad is present. New Zealand prisoners salmon smell of cucumber.

Inside systematics

There are two subfamilies, and classes 3, containing a total of 6 types:

Subfamily Prototroctinae

To subfamily Prototroctinae heard only one genus with two species ( one of them extinct). For them there is the dorsal fin on the ventral fins. The maxilla is toothless. A horny edge surrounds the lower jaw. The fish are 22 to 33 cm long. They have 62 to 72 vertebrae. Your mouth column extends to below the eye. Males get a tuberculate scales and fin rays.

• Genus trout pike pieces or Australian grayling ( Prototroctes ) Australian trout pike Ling ( Prototroctes maraena ) Günther, 1864
• New Zealand trout pike Ling ( Prototroctes oxyrhyncus ) Günther, 1870 †

Subfamily Retropinninae

To subfamily Retropinninae include two genera with four species. Their dorsal fin is behind the pelvic fins, just before the beginning of the anal fin. The maxilla is sometimes dentate. The fish are 7-10 cm long, rarely to 15 you have 45-63 vertebrae.

• Genus Retropinna New Zealand stint ( Retropinna retropinna ) ( Richardson, 1848)
• Australian smelt ( Retropinna Semoni ) ( Weber, 1895)
• Tasmanian smelt ( Retropinna tasmanica ) McCulloch, 1920

• Stokells stint ( Stokellia anisodon ) ( Stokell, 1941)