The pink maomao (''Caprodon longimanus''), also known as the longfin perch, is a species of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

, a member of the family

Anthiadidae Anthias are members of the family Anthiadidae in the order Perciformes. The group has also been called Anthiidae or Anthiinae, but these names are preoccupied by a subfamily of ground beetles in the family Carabidae erected by Bonelli in 1813 ...

. It is found in the southern Pacific and the southeastern Indian Ocean.

Description

The pink maomao has long and pointed

pectoral fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...

s, longer than the head, a long based

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

and a caudal fin which is slightly forked. The

has 10 spines and 19-21 soft rays while the

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

has 3 spines and 7-9 soft rays. In specimens from the eastern specific there are 58-65 scales in the

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelia ...

while in specimens from the western Pacific there are 61-71 lateral line scales. The females are an overall mauvish pink colour while the males are a similar colour but may show blackish blotches on the back and upper flanks and on the dorsal fin and males also have yellowish dorsal, caudal, anal and pelvic fins. The maximum recorded

fork length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish measured fr ...

is but they are more commonly recorded at fork lengths of and they normally weigh around but can reach .

Distribution

The pink maomao is found in the southeastern Indian Ocean off

Rottnest Island Rottnest Island (), often colloquially referred to as "Rotto", is a Islands of Perth, Western Australia, island off the coast of Western Australia, located west of Fremantle. A sandy, low-lying island formed on a base of aeolianite limestone, ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

and in the south western Pacific Ocean off eastern Australia from

Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour, locally nicknamed Coffs, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 a ...

to Bermagui in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, around

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland Port ...

and

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...

in the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...

, the

Kermadec Islands The Kermadec Islands ( ; ) are a subtropical island arc in the South Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand's North Island, and a similar distance southwest of Tonga. The islands are part of New Zealand. They are in total area and uninhabit ...

south to

D'Urville Island D'Urville Island (), Māori name ', is the largest island in the Marlborough Sounds, on the northern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It was named after the French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville. With an area of approximately , it is ...

and

Kaikōura Kaikōura (; ) is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, located on New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highway 1, north of Christchurch. The town has an estimated permanent resident population of as of . Kaikōura is th ...

in New Zealand, especially in the north island. They also occur in the southeastern Pacific around

Easter Island Easter Island (, ; , ) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is renowned for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, ...

, the

Juan Fernández Islands The Juan Fernández Islands () are a sparsely inhabited series of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, reliant on tourism and fishing. Situated off the coast of Chile, they are composed of three main volcanic islands: Robinson Crusoe Island, R ...

, the

Nazca Ridge The Nazca Ridge is a submarine ridge, located on the Nazca plate off the west coast of South America. This plate and ridge are currently subducting under the South American plate at a convergent boundary known as the Peru-Chile Trench at approxi ...

and the

Isla Salas y Gómez Isla Salas y Gómez (), also known as Isla Sala y Gómez (; ), is a small uninhabited Chilean island in the Pacific Ocean. It is sometimes considered the easternmost point in the Polynesian Triangle. Isla Salas y Gómez and its surrounding waters ...

. It has also been reported from the Hawaiian Islands.

Habitat and biology

The pink maomao is found near inshore reefs and its habits are both

benthopelagic The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a layer of ...

and

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning "the depths". ...

. It feeds on

zooplankton Zooplankton are the heterotrophic component of the planktonic community (the " zoo-" prefix comes from ), having to consume other organisms to thrive. Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents. Consequent ...

and small swimming organisms. It can also occur on the outer edge of 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 islan ...

, and around seamounts. Analysis of stomach contents of fish caught in the Juan Fernandez Islands of Chile showed that this species is opportunistic in its choice of prey, the commonest prey item found were

salps A salp (: salps, also known colloquially as “sea grape”) or salpa (: salpae or salpas) is a barrel-shaped, planktonic tunicate in the family Salpidae. The salp moves by contracting its gelatinous body in order to pump water through it; it ...

of the genus '' Thalia'' but this study found that a total of 17 genera of crustaceans were consumed, as well as pteropods,

chaetognath The Chaetognatha or chaetognaths (meaning ''bristle-jaws'') are a phylum of predatory marine worms that are a major component of plankton worldwide. Commonly known as arrow worms, they are mostly pelagic; however about 20% of the known species ...

s and

polychaete Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class of generally marine Annelid, annelid worms, common name, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called c ...

s. During the day pink maomao form schools, often mixed with silver trevally (''

Pseudocaranx georgianus Silver trevally, ''Pseudocaranx georgianus'', (also known as skippy, skipjack trevally and silver bream) is a Carangidae, jack of the family (biology), family Carangidae found around the coast of Australia and New Zealand. Description The fish ...

''),

yellowtail horse mackerel The yellowtail horse mackerel (''Trachurus novaezelandiae''), also known as yakka, is a carangidae, jack in the family (biology), family Carangidae found around Australia and New Zealand at depths to 500 m. Its length is up to . The fish is som ...

(''Trachurus novaezelandiae'') and blue mackerel (''Scomber australasicus''), retreating to rocky areas to spend the night. This species is a

protogynous hermaphrodite Sequential hermaphroditism (called dichogamy in botany) is one of the two types of hermaphroditism, the other type being simultaneous hermaphroditism. It occurs when the organism's sex changes at some point in its life. A sequential hermaphrodite ...

, they are hatched as females and may change sex to become male. Juvenile fish are only occasionally observed suggesting that this species breeds infrequently in low numbers.

Taxonomy

The pink maomao was first formally described as ''Anthias longimanus'' in 1859 by the Germany-born British zoologist

Albert Günther Albert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther , also Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf Günther (3October 18301February 1914), was a German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. Günther is ranked the second-most productive reptile tax ...

(1830-1914) with the type locality not being stated but thought to be Australia. Studies in New Zealand suggest that there are two species occurring there, one from the Kermadec Islands and the other from the North Island and the west Norfolk Ridge.

Fisheries

The pink maomao has thick, white flesh which is excellent eating and it is pursued by spearfishermen but is infrequently caught by line fishermen. Bag limits are in place in New Zealand.

References

* Ayling, T. & G. Cox. ''Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand''. William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand. 1982. {{Taxonbar, from=Q3179739 Anthiadidae Marine fish of Southern Australia Marine fish of New Zealand Fish of the Pacific Ocean Fish described in 1859 Taxa named by Albert Günther