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Bovichtus variegatus Richardson, 1846

Thornfish
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Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
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Bovichtus variegatus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Bovichtus variegatus (Thornfish)
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drawing shows typical species in Bovichtidae.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Perciformes/Notothenioidei (Icefishes) > Bovichtidae (Thornfishes)
Etymology: Bovichtus: Latin, bos, bovis = ox + Greek, ichthys = fish (Ref. 45335);  variegatus: Bovichtus means 'cow-fish' in reference to the horn-like spines on the rear of the head; variegatus means 'of different colours' in reference to pigmentation (Ref. 9003).
More on author: Richardson.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; benthopelagic; depth range 0 - 40 m (Ref. 127764). Temperate

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Southwest Pacific: New Zealand. Due to a type-locality error, Bovichtus variegatus was wrongly applied to Australian specimens (Ref. 9002).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 25.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9003)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Adults are commonly found in rockpools living within deep crevices and holes or under overhangs. They are rarely seen because of their nocturnal habits and camouflaged colour pattern. In some areas, small groups of thronfishes may be seen resting vertically or even upside down on rock faces. Diet consists exclusively of crabs and prawns. Juveniles are pelagic and distinguished by a silvery color pattern with vertical metallic and reddish brown bands (Ref. 9003).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Paulin, C., A. Stewart, C. Roberts and P. McMillan, 1989. New Zealand fish: a complete guide. National Museum of New Zealand Miscellaneous Series No. 19. 279 p. (Ref. 5755)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Not Evaluated 

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
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Predators
Ecology
Ecology
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Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
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Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
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Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
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Distribution
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Visual pigment(s)
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References

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 10.3 - 21.7, mean 15.6 °C (based on 196 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5044   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01000 (0.00244 - 0.04107), b=3.04 (2.81 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.6   ±0.3 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (15 of 100).