General Description

Body long, somewhat compressed; snout long, tapering into a hoe-shaped process; two dorsal fins, the first triangular and preceded by a long venomous spine; pectoral fins very large; tail long, pointed. Silvery white, often with indistinct dusky blotches on body and fins. To 1.2 m.

Biology

The Elephant Fish probes the sea floor with its long snout in search of invertebrates and small fishes. Females lay leathery spindle-shaped egg cases onto soft bottoms. The species is commercially fished in southern waters.

Distribution

New Zealand and southern Australia.

Habitat

On soft bottoms in inshore and offshore waters, to depths of about 200 m.

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