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Gasterochisma melampus  Richardson, 1845

Butterfly kingfish
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Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2100
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Gasterochisma melampus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Gasterochisma melampus (Butterfly kingfish)
Gasterochisma melampus
Picture by Archambault, C.


New Zealand country information

Common names: Butterfly tuna, Scaled tunny
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Voucher specimen(s) held at the NMNZ. Also Ref. 168.
National Checklist:
Country Information: httpss://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/nz.html
National Fisheries Authority: https://www.fish.govt.nz/
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Paulin, C., A. Stewart, C. Roberts and P. McMillan, 1989
National Database:

Classification / Names

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes (Perch-likes) > Scombridae (Mackerels, tunas, bonitos) > Gasterochismatinae
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Common names from other countries

Main reference

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 164 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 168)

Environment

Marine; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 200 - ? m (Ref. 9563)

Climate / Range

Subtropical; 8°C - 15°C (Ref. 168), preferred ?; 19°S - 55°S, 180°W - 180°E (Ref. 168)

Distribution

Circumglobal in southern temperate waters.
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 17 - 18; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9-12; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 11 - 13; Vertebrae: 44. Pelvic fins enormous in juveniles, longer than head length. Pelvic fins fitting into a deep ventral groove at all sizes. Interpelvic process tiny and bifid. No anterior corselet. Swim bladder present with two anterior projections that extend into the back of the skull. The morphological adaptations required for maintaining high brain and retinal temperatures are discussed in Ref. 11221.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occurs in deep oceanic waters (Ref. 9563), most abundant in waters of 8° to 10°C. Stomach contents of the specimen from north of the Hawaiian Archipelago include onychoteuthids, ommastrephid squid, vertebrae and fin rays from an unidentified fish, bird feathers and parasitic nematodes (Ref. 11006). Taken as longline by-catch by Japanese fishing for Thunnus maccoyii.

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Threat to humans

  Harmless



Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes

More information

Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance
References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Allele frequencies
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Mass conversion
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Pictures
Stamps, Coins
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

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Internet sources

BHL | BOLDSystems | Check for other websites | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO(Publication : search) | FIRMS (Stock assessments) | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | National databases | PubMed | Scirus | Sea Around Us | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | uBio RSS | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record | Fishtrace

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
PD50 = 1.0000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
4.4   ±0.57 se; Based on food items.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
High to very high vulnerability (65 of 100)
Price category (Ref. 80766)
Very high