Description

Dorsal soft rays (total): 10 - 11; Anal soft rays: 7 - 8; Vertebrae: 64 - 66. Pigmented brown dorsally and orange-pink ventrally; fins have dark gray patches contrasting with pale gray patches at the margins. Lower lip of mouth with elongated forked papillae. Lateral line pore tubes positioned between every 2 scales instead of the common pattern of 2:1:2 (Ref. 38037). Caudal vertebrae (= pleural caudal vertebrae + ural caudal vertebrae) 12 + 1. Lateral line scale pattern of 2:2:2 (that is, 2 scales: pore, 2 scales: pore, etc.)

Common Names

No common names available.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Teleostei

Order: Gonorynchiformes

Family: Gonorynchidae

Genus: Gonorynchus

Species: Gonorynchus forsteri Ogilby, 1911

Climate Zone

Location

Biology

Inhabits coastal sandy habitats , bays and estuaries where they remain buried during the day. Also found in deeper water 160-678 m. Juvenile, subadult and adult occur in shallow coastal areas; adults also inhabit deep shelf and slope areas and isolated offshore plateaus, and are capable of moving between the two (Ref. 48492). With the first New Caledonian record based on one ripe female and one spent male, captured at 960-1233 m depth, over 700 nautical miles from the nearest known populations, it is hypothesized that adult sandfish migrates along oceanic ridges to spawn in southern New Caledonian waters (Ref. 48492).

Habitat

demersal