Frostfish Waikanae Estuary

Discuss natural history subjects not strictly related to birds. Reports of interesting mammal, reptile, and invertebrate sightings are welcome.
GrahamB
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Frostfish Waikanae Estuary

Postby GrahamB » Mon May 22, 2017 12:08 pm

Claire and I came across a 1m long Frostfish (Lepidopus caudatus) washed up on the spit at Waikanae yesterday. No camera with us unfortunately, but it had been partially eaten by scavengers anyway.

An amazing elongate, sharp-toothed/fanged mesopelagic trichiurid fish with classic adaptations: very flat-sided (i.e. very narrow profile seen from above, below or from front), silvery colour (reflecting any ambient light and therefore nearly invisible), large eyes, recurved teeth (don't want to let that elusive slippery prey get away), and weak tail - obviously not a strong swimmer.
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Alan Tennyson
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Re: Frostfish Waikanae Estuary

Postby Alan Tennyson » Tue May 23, 2017 11:34 pm

I saw it on Sunday too! It's the third that I can recall seeing dead on Waikanae Beach.
Jan
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Re: Frostfish Waikanae Estuary

Postby Jan » Mon May 29, 2017 12:29 pm

When we used to do beach patrols at New Brighton beach in Christchurch, frostfish were often washed up early in the morning in the winter. They probably don't last long when the scavengers get to them, but we were often able to get quite a lot of free dogfood to take home and cook. Very meaty flesh. Not sure why they wash up, certain weather conditions perhaps.
GrahamB
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Re: Frostfish Waikanae Estuary

Postby GrahamB » Mon May 29, 2017 4:56 pm

Interesting. The fact the Frostfish is a deep-water species makes their appearance onshore somewhat of a puzzle. I wonder if they are accidentally caught in trawls during deployment or recovery and then discarded.
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David Riddell
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Re: Frostfish Waikanae Estuary

Postby David Riddell » Tue May 30, 2017 9:47 am

Seems this is just something frostfish do, and I don't think anyone really knows why. But they've been doing it for a long time - Te Ara (http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/coastal-fish/page-3) quotes a book published in 1886, which recounts the story of a man who encountered a frostfish in Clifford Bay, Marlborough:
‘On two occasions I stood between a frostfish and the beach, and, as he came on, turned him with a long stick head to the sea, making him swim out, but, in a minute or two, he turned again for shore, going up high and dry as fast as possible. So, as he seemed to have set his mind upon landing, I gave up the attempt to influence his decision, and took him home for breakfast.’

There's a very similar but much more recent story from Ohiwa Harbour at https://fishingmag.co.nz/fish-new-zeala ... s-caudatus
GrahamB
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Re: Frostfish Waikanae Estuary

Postby GrahamB » Tue May 30, 2017 10:59 am

Thanks for the links David. A fascinating creature to be sure.
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Neil Fitzgerald
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Re: Frostfish Waikanae Estuary

Postby Neil Fitzgerald » Sun Jun 04, 2017 10:58 am

I saw lots on Matakana Island about 15 years ago. I'm sure I was told the reason (or at least one of the reasons) they are called frost fish is because hey tend to appear on winter mornings, like frost
Will Parsons
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Re: Frostfish Waikanae Estuary

Postby Will Parsons » Sun Jul 16, 2017 2:31 pm

frost fish.jpg
frost fish.jpg (636.61 KiB) Viewed 3900 times
This photo taken at Wairau bar a few years ago.

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