Northern River Garfish, Zenarchopterus buffonis (Valenciennes 1847)
Other Names: Buffon's Garfish, Buffon's River Garfish, Northern Garfish, Stripe-nosed Halfbeak
A Northern River Garfish, Zenarchopterus buffonis, at Ko Lanta, Thailand, March 2016. Source: Julien Renoult / iNaturalist.org. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial
Summary:
A garfish with a white tip on the lower jaw, and a prominent dark brown stripe along the midline of the snout to the rear of the head.
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2023, Zenarchopterus buffonis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 26 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/4497
Northern River Garfish, Zenarchopterus buffonis (Valenciennes 1847)
More Info
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Distribution |
Near Onslow, Western Australia, around the tropical north to the Maroochy River, Queensland. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical, east-Indo-west Pacific. Inhabits surface waters of inshore coastal areas, estuaries, mangrove-lined creeks, and the lowermost reaches of freshwater streams. |
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Features |
Dorsal fin 11-13; Anal fin 12-13; Pectoral fin 10-11; Predorsal scales 27-32; Vertebrae (27-31) + (11-13) = 40-44. Upper jaw distinctly wider than long, width divided by length 1.05-1.35; lower jaw much longer than head. Sixth anal-fin ray of adult males much thickened and enlarged, not reaching caudal-fin base; fourth to seventh dorsal-fin rays of adult males slightly elongate; pectoral fin much shorter than head. |
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Feeding |
Feeds mostly on terrestrial insects and sometimes plants that fall onto the water’s surface. |
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Etymology |
The species is named for the Buffon, the ship from which the type specimen was collected. |
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Species Citation |
Hemiramphus buffonis Valenciennes, in Cuvier & Valenciennes 1847, Histoire Naturelle des Poissons Vol. 19: 48. Type locality: Pulo-Pinan, Malaysia. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2023 |
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Resources |
Northern River Garfish, Zenarchopterus buffonis (Valenciennes 1847)
References
Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls.
Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls.
Blaber, S.J.M., Brewer, D.T., Salini, J.P., Kerr, J.D. & Conacher, C. 1992. Species composition and biomasses of fishes in tropical seagrasses at Groote Eylandt, northern Australia. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 35(6): 605-620. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-7714(05)80042-3
Collette, B.B. 1974. The garfishes (Hemiramphidae) of Australia and New Zealand. Records of the Australian Museum 29(2): 11-105 figs 1-23 https://doi.org/10.3853/j.0067-1975.29.1974.231
Cuvier, G.L. & Valenciennes, A. 1847. Histoire Naturelle des Poissons. Paris : Levrault Vol. 19 544 pp. pls 554-590. See ref at BHL
Grant, E.M. 2002. Guide to Fishes. Redcliffe : EM Grant Pty Ltd 880 pp. Hitchcock, G., Finn, M.A.,
Hitchcock, G., Finn, M.A., Burrows, D.W. & Johnson, J.W. 2012. Fishes from fresh and brackish waters of islands in Torres Strait, far north Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum – Nature 56(1): 13-24.
Kottelat, M. 2013. The fishes of the inland waters of southeast Asia: a catalogue and core bibliography of the fishes known to occur in freshwaters, mangroves and estuaries. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 27: 1-663.
Kottelat, M. & Lim, K.K. 1999. Mating behavior of Zenarchopterus gilli and Zenarchopterus buffonis and function of the modified dorsal and anal fin rays in some species of Zenarchopterus (Teleostei: Hemiramphidae). Copeia 1999(4): 1097-1101.
Larson, H.K., Williams, R.S. & Hammer, M.P. 2013. An annotated checklist of the fishes of the Northern Territory, Australia. Zootaxa 3696(1): 1-293
Larson, H.K. & Williams, R.S. 1997. Darwin Harbour fishes: a survey and annotated checklist. pp. 339-380 in Hanley, H.R., Caswell, G., Megirian, D. & Larson, H.K. (eds). The Marine Flora and Fauna of Darwin Harbour, Northern Territory, Australia. Proceedings of the Sixth International Marine Biology Workshop. Darwin : Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory 466 pp.
Palmer-Newton, A. 2020. Zenarchopterus buffonis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T166572A1137438. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T166572A1137438.en. Accessed on 30 January 2023.
Pusey, B.J., Burrows, D.W., Kennard, M.J., Perna, C.N., Unmack. P.J., Allsop, Q. & Hammer, M.P. 2017. Freshwater fishes of northern Australia. Zootaxa 4253(1): 1-104 https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4253.1.1
Whitley, G.P. 1954. New locality records for some Australian fishes. Proceedings of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales 1952–53: 23-30 figs 1-5
