Shortjaw kokopu
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2008-02-29T13:53:17Z
Eubot
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Removed taxobox colour. See [[User:Eubot/Removing colours from taxoboxen]].
'''''For a general article about [[kokopu|all 3 kokopu]].'''''
{{Taxobox
| name = Shortjaw kokopu
| status = VU
| status_system = iucn2.3
| regnum = [[Animalia]]
| phylum = [[Chordata]]
| classis = [[Actinopterygii]]
| ordo = [[Osmeriformes]]
| familia = [[Galaxiidae]]
| subfamilia = [[Galaxiinae]]
| genus = ''[[Galaxias]]''
| species = '''''G. postvectis'''''
| binomial = ''Galaxias postvectis''
| binomial_authority = Clarke, 1899
}}
The '''shortjaw kokopu''', ''Galaxias postvectis'', is a [[galaxiid]] of the [[genus]] ''[[Galaxias]]'', found only in [[New Zealand]], except the [[Chatham Islands|Chatham]] and [[Stewart Island]]s. It grows to a length of up to 26 cm.
Shortjaw kokopu have speckled coloration consisting of spots of various shades of brown and grey, with a distinctive dark patch behind the gill openings. The single [[dorsal fin|dorsal]] and [[anal fin]]s are large, rounded, and set back close to the large square [[caudal fin]]. Like all galaxiids it lacks [[scale (zoology)|scale]]s and has a thick, leathery skin covered with [[mucus]]. The jaw is undercut, with the lower jaw being shorter than the upper.
This member of the Galaxiidae family is the rarest of the five species that occur in the [[whitebait]] runs that enter New Zealand rivers each spring. Adult shortjaw kokopu usually live in streams with large boulders, making detection difficult. With more appropriate detection methods it may not be as uncommon as previously thought. They penetrate well inland in many catchments, but they appear to be restricted to streams with native forest vegetation.
Shortjaw kokopu mostly feed on [[invertebrate]]s that either live in the stream bed or fall into the water, and will move into the open at night for feeding.
==References==
* {{IUCN2006|assessors=McDowall & Simons|year=1996|id=8813|title=Galaxias postvectis|downloaded=11 May 2006}} Listed as Vulnerable (VU B1+2bcd v2.3)
* {{FishBase species | genus = Galaxias | species = postvectis | month = March | year = 2006}}
* [http://www.niwascience.co.nz/rc/freshwater/fishatlas/species/shortjaw_kokopu NIWA June 2006]
[[Category:Galaxiidae]]
[[Category:Endemic freshwater fish of New Zealand]]