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Dellichthys morelandi Briggs, 1955

Urchin clingfish
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Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
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Dellichthys morelandi   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Dellichthys morelandi (Urchin clingfish)
Dellichthys morelandi
Picture by Caiger, P.

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

Teleostei (teleosts) > Gobiesociformes (Clingfishes) > Gobiesocidae (Clingfishes and singleslits) > Trachelochisminae
Eponymy: Richard ‘Dick’ Kenneth Dell (1920–2002) was Director, Dominion Museum (now Te Papa). [...] John ‘Jock’ Munne Moreland (1921–2012) was Curator of Fishes, Dominion Museum (now Te Papa), Wellington. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Briggs.

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

Marine; demersal; depth range 0 - 15 m (Ref. 9003). Temperate

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

Southwest Pacific: endemic to New Zealand.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 8.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 27207)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 8 - 9; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 8 - 9. Head and body purple or cream with blue spots. A band of pale color across nape. Distinguished from other clingfishes by its thin lips, exposed flap of skin across the snout and a small fleshy swelling at the base of the pectoral fin.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occurs in rock pools and the subtidal zone. Usually found beneath the spines of sea urchins. Individuals too large to be associated with sea urchins usually found beneath rocks or among shell debris. Feeds mainly on the tube feet and pedicellariae of its host sea urchins, Evechinus chloroticus (Ref. 33548) and on small crustaceans.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Williams, Jeffrey T. | Collaborators

Paulin, C. and C. Roberts, 1992. The rockpool fishes of New Zealand (Te ika aaria o Aotearoa). Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa Tongarewa). 177 p. (Ref. 9003)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

Not Evaluated 

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
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Abundance
Life cycle
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Maturity/Gills rel.
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Distribution
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Anatomy
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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 | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 12.6 - 18.5, mean 16.2 °C (based on 104 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 1.0000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00457 (0.00179 - 0.01169), b=3.12 (2.89 - 3.35), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.0   ±0.1 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 128 [68, 317] mg/100g; Iron = 0.486 [0.274, 0.973] mg/100g; Protein = 16.9 [15.7, 18.1] %; Omega3 = 0.472 [0.223, 1.003] g/100g; Selenium = 6.28 [2.51, 15.29] μg/100g; VitaminA = 46.3 [10.6, 191.5] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.16 [0.74, 1.75] mg/100g (wet weight);