Blueband Whiptail, Coelorinchus matamua (McCann & McKnight 1980)

Other Names: Blue Banded Whiptail, Large-headed Whiptail, Mahia Rattail, Mahia Whiptail

Coelorinchus-matamua. Source: Coelorinchus-matamua. License:

Summary:

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Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. & G. Frankham, Coelorinchus matamua in Fishes of Australia, accessed 22 Jan 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3900

Blueband Whiptail, Coelorinchus matamua (McCann & McKnight 1980)

More Info

Distribution	Circumglobal in temperate waters off Australia, New Zealand, southern Africa and the southern tip of South America; benthopelagic on the continental slope at depths between 450-1000 m.
Features	D II, 8-10; P 16-19; V 7; GR 11-13; PC 18-34 Head and body deep, compressed, head large, ridges well-defined, eye large, longer than snout and postorbital length; snout short, bluntly pointed, tipped with small tubercle, anterolateral margin incompletely supported by bone, area dorsally behind leading edge scaled; suborbital region almost vertical, head scaled, including most of nasal fossa; mouth large, upper jaw longer than snout, jaw teeth small in tapering bands, outer row on premaxilla slightly enlarged. Dorsal fins well separated, second spinous ray of first dorsal fin not prolonged.Body scales large, with 8-11 or more slightly divergent rows of small spinules. Light organ small, indistinct globular gland adjacent to anus, not externally visible.
Size	A large species reaching a total length of 65 cm.
Colour	Head dark, trunk encircled by prominent dark violet to bluish band, tail pale to dusky; fins mostly black, posterior half to two-thirds of anal fin pale to dusky; mouth and gill cavities pale, lips and gill membranes black.
Feeding	Carnivorous on fishes (myctophids) and invertebrates such as decapod crustaceans.
Fisheries	Of minor commercial importance, and frequently taken as bycatch in by trawlers fishing in deepwater off Tasmania; also abundant in continental slope waters off southern Africa.
Conservation	Not assessed.
Species Citation	Mahia matamua McCann & McKnight, 1980, Mem. N.Z. Oceanogr. Inst. 61: 53, figs. 36-38, off Gisborne, New Zealand.
Author	Bray, D.J. & G. Frankham

Blueband Whiptail, Coelorinchus matamua (McCann & McKnight 1980)

References

Iwamoto, T. & P.J. McMillan. 2008. Macrouridae. In Gomon, M.F., D.J. Bray & R.H. Kuiter. Fishes of Australia’s Southern Coast. New Holland Publishers & Museum Victoria, Melbourne, Australia. 1-928p.

Iwamoto, T. & Williams, A. 1999. Grenadiers (Pisces, Gadiformes) from the continental slope of western and northwestern Australia. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 51(3): 105-243, figs. 1-58.

McCann, C. & McKnight, D.G. 1980. The marine fauna of New Zealand: macrourid fishes. (Pisces : Gadida). Mem. N.Z. Oceanogr. Inst. 61: 1-91, figs. 1-69.