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Coryphaena hippurus  Linnaeus, 1758

Common dolphinfish
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Coryphaena hippurus
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New Zealand country information

Common names: Dolphinfish, Mahi mahi
Occurrence: native
Salinity: brackish
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Common in northern offshore waters. Voucher specimen(s) held at the NMNZ.
National Checklist:
Country Information: httpss://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/nz.html
National Fisheries Authority: https://www.fish.govt.nz/
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Paulin, C., A. Stewart, C. Roberts and P. McMillan, 1989
National Database:

Classification / Names

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes (Perch-likes) > Coryphaenidae (Dolphinfishes)
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Common names from other countries

Coryphène commune, Lampuga, Mahi mahi, ... more

Main reference

Palko, B.J., G.L. Beardsley and W.J. Richards. 1982. (Ref. 26)
 References | Biblio | Coordinator | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 210 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9846); common length : 100.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3390); max. published weight: 40.0 kg (Ref. 30874); max. reported age: 4 years (Ref. 2885)

Length at first maturity
 Lm 55.8, range 35 - 93.1 cm

Environment

Marine; brackish; pelagic-neritic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 85 m (Ref. 13608), usually 5 - 10 m (Ref. 40849)

Climate / Range

Subtropical; 21°C - 30°C (Ref. 26), preferred 28°C (Ref. 107945); 47°N - 38°S, 180°W - 180°E (Ref. 54341)

Distribution

Atlantic, Indian and Pacific: in tropical and subtropical waters. Highly migratory species, Annex I of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (Ref. 26139).
 Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 58-66; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 25 - 31; Vertebrae: 31. Greatest body depth in adults less than 25% of standard length; tooth patch on tongue small and oval; single dorsal fin extending from above eye almost to caudal fin with 58-66 rays; a concave anal fin extending from anus almost to caudal fin; pectoral fin more than half of head length (Ref. 10948). Caudal vertebrae usually 18 (Ref. 10998). Mature males posses a prominent bony crest in front of the head. The color is striking with golden hues on the sides, metallic blues and greens on the back and sides, with white and yellow on the underparts. Small specimens have pronounced vertical bars on the sides of the body.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Adults are found in open waters but also near the coast (Ref. 9293, 11230). Form schools. Feed on almost all forms of fish and zooplankton; also takes crustaceans and squid (Ref. 2850). Sexual maturity is reached in 4-5 months (3 for captive fish) (Ref. 11441). Spawn in the open sea and probably approximate to the coast when water temperature rises (Ref. 9293). Eggs and larvae are pelagic (Ref. 6755). Attracting devices such as floating bundles of bamboo reeds or cork planks are used to concentrate dolphin fish before the nets are set. Marketed frozen (Ref. 9987) and fresh and is of high value (Ref. 9293).

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

  Least Concern (LC) 

Threat to humans

  Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 30911)



Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes

Tools

Bio-Quiz | E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

BHL | BOLDSystems | Check for other websites | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO(fisheries: production, species profile; publication : search) | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | National databases | PubMed | RFE Identification | Scirus | Sea Around Us | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | uBio RSS | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record | Fishtrace

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
 PD50 = 1.0000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
 4.4   ±0.0 se; Based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
 High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.4-1.2; tm<1; tmax=5; Fec=85,000)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
 Moderate vulnerability (40 of 100)
Price category (Ref. 80766)
 High