From en.wikipedia.org:
[Species of ray-finned fish] [the species] [date=July 2024] {{Speciesbox |
image = Odax pullus (Greenbone).jpg | image_caption = | status = LC |
status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = [1] | taxon = Odax pullus | authority =
(J. R. Forster, 1801) | synonyms =
- _Scarus pullus_ <small> J. R. Forster, 1801 </small>
- _Callyodon coregonoides_ <small> Parkinson, 1843 </small> (ambiguous)
- _Odax vittatus_ <small> J. Richardson & Solander, 1843 </small>
- _Coregonoides vittatus_ <small> Solander, 1843 </small> (ambiguous)
| synonyms_ref = <ref name = Fishbase>[Odax] }}
_ODAX PULLUS_, known by the names GREENBONE, BUTTERFISH or its Māori language name MARARĪ, or RARĪ,[2] is a species of ray-finned fish, a weed whiting from the family Odacidae, which is found around New Zealand. It is of minor importance to local commercial fisheries.<ref name = Fishbase/>
** Description
Greenbone fish are protogynous hermaphrodites, beginning life as female and a
proportion becoming male later in life. Young fish begin life with a
golden-yellow colour, developing into a dark green-blue as the fish become
juveniles. Adult fish are typically brown-yellow in colour.<ref
name="Secrets" />
This species reaches a length of [40] SL and has been recorded as reaching
[1.5]. Once the fish reach a length of [40], approximately half of the fish
develop into males, who have a bright-blue colour.<ref name="Secrets"
/><gallery mode="packed" heights="160"> File:Odax pullus 191237471
(cropped).jpg|A younger golden-yellow _Odax pullus_ in a kelp forest
File:Green-boned Butterfish, Lyall Bay, Wellington 6022, New Zealand imported
from iNaturalist photo 24156535.jpg|As their name implies, the bones of the
species are blue-green in colour </gallery>
** Range and habitat
_Odax pullus_ is common in New Zealand coastal waters, particularly around the
South Island.[3] Its range includes the Chatham Islands, Antipodes Islands and
Bounty Islands but it is not present around the Three Kings Islands, where it
is replaced by the endemic bluefinned butterfish _O. cyanoallix_.<ref
name="iucn status 20 November 2021" />
It inhabits shallow, rocky areas with brown algae growth, mainly
_Carpophyllum_.
** Diet
Greenbones are primarily herbivorous, feeding mostly on brown seaweeds.<ref
name="Secrets"/>
** In a human context
Rarī is a traditional Māori food-source,<ref name=":0" /> and developed a folk
reputation for being troublemakers. The name rarī over time became used to
describe people who were troublemakers as well.<ref name="Secrets"/> The fish
was more commonly eaten in southern New Zealand, and typically caught using
large pole nets which used kelp as a camouflage.<ref name="Secrets"/>
Early European settlers similarly had a poor reputation for the fish, until a
public health campaign in the 1920s by the Department of Health, who
encouraged people to eat the fish due to its high levels of iodine.<ref
name="Secrets"/>[4]
** References
[Reflist]
[from=Q1971219]
Category:Odax Category:Fish described in 1801 Category:Taxa named by Johann
Reinhold Forster Category:Endemic marine fish of New Zealand