Juvenile albacore from New Zealand (note)

Juvenile albacore (Thunnus alalunga) caught in the New Zealand region between 1970 and 1972 are about 1 year old. There is some evidence of southward migration of these small fish along the west coast. Small albacore also occur in the North Pacific.     

Frigate tuna Auxis thazard in New Zealand waters (note)

Previous records of the frigate tuna Auxis thazard (Lacépède, 1802) were probably misidentifications of the slender tuna Allothunnus fallai. Frigate tuna were caught on the north‐east coast of New Zealand during 1975–76; the modal fork length of 176 specimens was 32–34 cm, and more detailed morpho‐metry and counts from 4 specimens are presented.     

Pleistocene Ross seal (ommatophoca Rossi) from New Zealand (note)

A fossil seal jaw from the Early Pleistocene (Wanganui Series; Hautawan Stage) of Napier, New Zealand, is identified as that of an Ommatophoca rossi juvenile of less than 1.8 m body length.     

Broadbilled swordfish from Tasman bay,New Zealand (note)

On 4 January 1971 a solitary specimen of the broadbilled swordfish Xiphias gladius Linneaus (Osteichthyes: Xiphiidae) was shot in Croisilles Harbour (41° 04’ S, 173° 40’ E). This was the first time the species has been recorded in the Tasman Bay area.     

Juvenile form of the New Zealand turbot Colistium nudipinnis (Waite) (Pisces: Heterosomata: Rhombosoleinae) (note)

A juvenile (26 mm) specimen of the New Zealand turbot Colistium nudipinnis (Waite) is figured and described. Differences between the juvenile and adult forms, and characters distinguishing juvenile C. nudipinnis from the young of other New Zealand species of flatfish, are noted.     

Pericosmus sp. (Echinoidea: Spatangoida) recorded from northern New Zealand (note)

Recently dead fragments of the spatangoid echinoid Pericosmus sp. are recorded from the northern Bay of Plenty, 288–318 m. This record adds a further genus of Indo‐Pacific echinoderms to the New Zealand fauna.     

Respiration rates of some New Zealand echinoderms (note)

Respiratory rates were measured in four common New Zealand echinoderms, Evechinus chloroticus and Goniocidaris umbraculum (Echinoidea), and Coscinasterias calamaria and Pentagonaster pulcheilus (Asteroidea). Oxygen uptake was monitored with a polarographic oxygen electrode. The respiratory rates at 12°c ranged from 3.8 to 9.8 μl O_2.h^‐1.g^‐1 (live weight). The rates for Evechinus and Coscinasterias fall well within the range of metabolic rates of other echinoids and asteroids. Goniocidaris and Pentagonaster have relatively low respiratory rates.     

New Zealand fur seals at three Kings Islands (note)

Since 1967, New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) have been seen in winter on Three Kings Islands (34°10'S, 172°08'E) in increasing numbers, up to 80 in 1969. Approximately 130 were also seen on Motupia Island (34°37'S, 172°48'E) in 1969.     

New distribution records of 2 Boeckella species in New Zealand (note)

The freshwater calanoid copepods Boeckella triarticulata and B. hamata were found in ponds near Napier. These are the first records of B. triarticulata in the North Island, New Zealand and of B. hamata in the east coast, North Island.     

Descriptions of two New Zealand sea anemones (Actiniaria: Hormathiidae)

The sea anemones Calliactis conchicola Parry, 1952 and Paracalliactis rosea n.sp. are described. This is the first report of the hormathiid genus Paracalliactis for New Zealand. Calliactis conchicola occurs with living gastropods, hermit crabs, and a true crab, and Paracalliactis rosea occurs with hermit crabs and a true crab. Certain characteristics of each of the two anemones suggest that the genera Calliactis and Paracalliactis may not be as discrete as was indicated by earlier reports.     

Notobathynella longipes sp. n. and new records of other Bathynellacea (Crustacea,Syncarida) from New Zealand

This paper deals with Bathynellacea collected by Entomology Division, DSIR, in 1972–73 by pumping water from wells and bores in different parts of New Zealand. Notobathynella longipes sp. n. is described from wells in Motueka (South Island). The distribution of the New Zealand Parabathynellidae is discussed briefly.     

DNA identification of Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) in the New Zealand fishery

Muscle samples were collected from 69 specimens identified as Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) (Temminck and Schlegel, 1844) in the New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) between 1990 and 2000. Identifications before 1996 were based on body size and colour of the caudal keel; later identifications were mostly based on the shape of abdominal cavity. The tissue samples were tested with a diagnostic mitochondrial DNA marker that distinguishes southern bluefin Thunnus maccoyii (Castelnau, 1872) and Pacific bluefin tuna T. orientalis; 59 specimens were confirmed as T. orientalis and 10 as T. maccoyii. Specimens recorded as Pacific bluefin tuna by the shape of the abdominal cavity were correctly identified as T. orientalis, and this character can be used to identify large specimens landed on tuna vessels. Some specimens recorded as Pacific bluefin tuna on the basis of colour and size were T. maccoyii; and early records of T. orientalis in New Zealand waters, based on these characters, are unreliable. Unusual colour patterns were reported in some specimens of T. orientalis but not T. maccoyii. The Pacific bluefin tuna T. orientalis accounted for less than 0.3% of the bluefin tuna catch in the New Zealand EEZ during the 1990s.     

Tagging experiments on blue cod (Parapercis colias) in the Marlborough Sounds,New Zealand

From 1973 to 1976, 2430 blue cod (Parapercis colias) were tagged in the Marlborough Sounds. Tags from 84 fish (3.5%) were returned, after a mean 138 days at liberty. Of these, 71.6% had not moved significant distances. The remainder had travelled up to 41.7 km. Tag shedding rates, as indicated by multiple‐tagging experiments, were high. Results suggest that blue cod of the Marlborough Sounds and the adjacent islands belong to the same stock, and that, while some move significant distances, the majority stay in 1 place for extended periods.     

Precocious male quinnat salmon oncorhynchus tshawytscha (walbaum) in New Zealand (note)

Samples of yearling parr of quinnat salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum) from Lake Heron and the Glenariffe Stream were examined, and precocious ripe males were found. The proportion in the population (29.2%) was higher than is recorded in North America (2.6%).     

Diagnosis of a new species of neolithodes (Crustacea: Anomura: Lithodidae) from New Zealand (note)

A new stone crab, Neolithodes brodiei sp.nov., known from an ovigerous female taken in 455 fm (832 m) on the Campbell Plateau, is characterised and distinguished from the five species previously recognised. It is morphologically close to the North Atlantic N. agassizii and the South African N. asperrimus.     

Determination of total dissolved phosphorus in New Zealand fresh waters (note)

Ultraviolet digestion was found to be simpler and more convenient than perchloric acid digestion in the determination of total dissolved phosphorus in a variety of New Zealand freshwaters, but had limitations when used on waters with a high humic acid content.

Perchloric acid digestion was more powerful, breaking down polyphosphate bonds not affected by ultraviolet, but was subject to phosphorus losses from “bumping” during evaporation to dryness.     

Halosaurus pectoralis McCulloch (Pisces: Halosauridae) in the New Zealand region (note)

Halosaurus pectoralis McCulloch is recorded from off Gisborne, New Zealand, and from south‐east of Lord Howe Island, thus adding a second species of the order Heteromi to the New Zealand fauna.     

A new echiuran Sluiterina kaikourae (Echiura: Bonelliidae), from New Zealand and a note on New Zealand echiurans

A new echiuran (Sluiterina kaikourae), dredged at 2000 m off Kaikoura, New Zealand, is described. Other records of New Zealand echiurans are also given.     

Radiocarbon age for freshwater mussel shells from Taumutu,Lake Ellesmere,New Zealand (note)

Shells of the freshwater mussel Hyridella menziesi from Taumutu, Lake Ellesmere, give a radiocarbon age of 748 ± 41 years b.p. They indicate former higher‐level lakeshores and date the formation of the most recent ridges. Their occurrence presents a problem because the lake is brackish at present, and because no freshwater mussels have been reported living in or near Lake Ellesmere.     

Myctophid fish recorded from New Zealand as Lampanyctus Guentheri reidentified as L. austraus (note)

The myctophid fish Lampanyctus guentheri ( = Lcpidophanes guenlheri) recently recorded from New Zealand is reindentified as Lampanyctus australis. The genus Lepidophanes is known only from the Atlantic Ocean.