MUDFISH FOUND
TWO CAUGHT IN SWAMP.
DISCOVERY NEAR PAHIATUA.
Hibernating deep down in the mud when the pools in which they live have dried up,' and returning to the surface with the approach of more congenial conditions, two fish found in a swamp drain at Ruawhata, near Pahiatua, represent a species which is probably New Zealand’s queerest. The fish bear Ihe scientific name Neochanna apoda, more generally known as mudfish, and belong to a tribe of primitive scaleless fishes living in fresh water confined to the Southern Hemisphere. Found by a pupil of the Pahiatua School, the fish are at present on display at the school. In appearance they are like small eels, Gin. long and an inch and a-half wide. They are a muddy brown colour. Formerly found at Hokitika, Feilding and Rangitikei, the mudfish has become rare, as the draining of the swamps has destroyed its habitat. Specimens have been brought to Wellington from Westport for the Centennial Exhibition.
Specimens have been found 6ft. deep in clay, probably having followed a channel left by a decayed stem or root in the course of its journey to a place in hibernation. ’- ,
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Wairarapa Times-Age, 22 July 1939, Page 4
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192MUDFISH FOUND Wairarapa Times-Age, 22 July 1939, Page 4
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