Something’s fishy: an unexpected intertidal encounter with the New Zealand lancelet, Epigonichthys hectori (Benham, 1901), near the Whangarei Heads, NZ
de Gier, W.; Hubert, J. (2023). Something’s fishy: an unexpected intertidal encounter with the New Zealand lancelet, Epigonichthys hectori (Benham, 1901), near the Whangarei Heads, NZ. Diversity 15(9): 1017. https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/d15091017
In: Diversity. MDPI: Basel. ISSN 1424-2818; e-ISSN 1424-2818, more
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| Keywords |
Branchiostomatidae Bonaparte, 1846 [WoRMS]; Cephalochordata [WoRMS]; Epigonichthys hectori (Benham, 1901) [WoRMS]
Marine/Coastal |
| Author keywords |
Cephalochordata; Branchiostomatidae; depth distribution |
| Authors | | Top |
- de Gier, W.
- Hubert, J., more
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| Abstract |
A specimen of the endemic New Zealand lancelet Epigonichthys hectori (Benham, 1901) was found and photographed in the intertidal area of a beach near the Whangarei Heads in New Zealand. This only lancelet species for New Zealand is rarely caught and is known for its specific habitat requirements, demanding clean, coarse sand. The specimen was found in an almost dried-out puddle during low tide on a beach with a lot of human activity. The species is also known to inhabit greater depths, making this observation (together with another recent, unpublished record) a constitution for evidence that it also inhabits tidal areas. Distribution records from the literature are reviewed, plotted on a map, and supplemented by this new observation. |
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