The northern bastard codling (''Pseudophycis breviuscula'') is a

morid cod The Moridae are a family of cod-like fishes, known as codlings, hakelings, and moras. Morids are marine fishes found throughout the world, and may be found at depths to , although most prefer shallower waters. In appearance, they greatly resemb ...

of the genus ''

Pseudophycis ''Pseudophycis'' is a genus of codlings of the family Moridae found around New Zealand and Southern Australia The term Southern Australia is generally considered to refer to the states and territories of Australia of New South Wales, Vi ...

'', found around southern Australia including

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, and

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 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

, from the surface to 220 m. Its length is between 15 and 25 cm. The northern bastard codling is similar in general appearance to the

rattail Grenadiers or rattails are generally large, brown to black gadiform marine fish of the subfamily Macrourinae, the largest subfamily of the family Macrouridae. Found at great depths from the Arctic to Antarctic, members of this subfamily are amon ...

s, with large eyes and an elongated, tapering body, but the northern bastard codling has a separate, very rounded

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 s ...

. The second

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...

and the

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 s ...

start about halfway along the body length. Body colour is brown-pink with dark edges to the dorsal, caudal, and anal fins.

Taxonomy

Pseudophycis ''breviuscula'' falls under the ray-finned fish class Actinopterygii. The order Gadiformes represents all cods (both marine, freshwater, and bracken) while the family Moridae is a collection of marine only cod-like fish. In the genus Pseudophycis (of which are only found in Southern Australia and/or New Zealand) there are two other species. Pseudophycis ''barbata'' (Southern bastard cod) and Pseudophycis ''bachus'' (red codling) complete this genus with P. ''breviuscula''.

Description

P. ''breviuscula'' is the smallest of the red cods with maximum size thought to be approximately 250mm. Other red cods can reach lengths up to 900mm. It was previously confused with P. ''barbata'' for some years. It can be identified as separate to P. ''bachus'' by the lack of presence of a dark spot near the bottom of the pectoral fin and displays larger scales than the southern bastard cod. It has two dorsal fins; the anterior being quite short while the posterior dorsal fin stretches more than half the body length. The caudal (tail) fin is rounded and not overly wide. The ventral aspect of the body is described as silver in color while the dorsal section is a pale pink-brownish color. The eyes are large and a barbel is present on the chin.

Distribution and habitat

P. ''breviuscula'' is described as a ‘cryptic fish’ in that its behavior and habitat makes its difficult to study and accurately detect. Cryptic species are often seen to be endemic species. P. ''breviuscula'' is endemic New Zealand reef fish that occupies a temperate water climate. It is known to be nocturnal which is likely one of the reasons very little study has been done on it. The only New Zealand recordings of the northern bastard cod are in the North Island. It is more often recorded seen on the eastern coast than the western.

Diet

While very little known is known about the northern bastard cod, a survey conducted on the inhabitants of the north-east coastal reef fish was performed providing some insight to the diet of P. ''breviuscula''. The survey showed it to be a carnivorous benthic feeder of small crustaceans such as amphipods, shrimps, and crabs. This was done via examination of stomach contents. Feeding behavior could not be observed due to the nocturnal nature of this fish.

References

* * Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, ''Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand'', (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) *http://www.fishbase.de/Summary/speciesSummary.php?ID=2022&AT=Northern+bastard+cod , retrieved 4 March 2015. *http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/FamilySummary.php?Family=Moridae , retrieved 4 March 2015. *Willis, T.J. & Anderson, M., (2003), Structure of cryptic fish assemblages: relationships with habitat characteristics and predator density, Marine Ecology Progress Series, Vol. 257, 209-221. *Russell, B.C., (1983), The food and feeding habits of rocky reef fish of north eastern New Zealand, New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 17:2, 121-145. *Paulin, C.D. & Roberts, C.D., (1992), The rockpool fishes of New Zealand, Colourcraft Ltd, Hong Kong. {{Taxonbar, from=Q2303427 northern bastard codling Fish of the North Island Fauna of New South Wales Marine fish of Southern Australia northern bastard codling