Common galaxias
Common galaxias | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Galaxiiformes |
Family: | Galaxiidae |
Genus: | Galaxias |
Species: | G. maculatus |
Binomial name | |
Galaxias maculatus (Jenyns, 1842) | |
Synonyms | |
Galaxias usitatus McDowall, 1967 |
The common galaxias (Galaxias maculatus) or inanga (from the Māori īnanga) is a very widespread Southern Hemisphere fish in the family Galaxiidae. It is a slim, narrow fish with a forked tail and a mottled, spotty pattern, typically about 10 cm (4 in) long when fully grown. It lives in fresh water, but spawns at river mouths and spends the first six months of its life at sea, returning en masse in spring. Its vernacular names include cowfish, jollytail, common jollytail, eel gudgeon, inaka, native trout, pulangi, puye, slippery tarki, spotted minnow, Falklands minnow and whitebait.