Common bully

"Toi toi" redirects here. For the theatre expression, see Toi toi toi.

Common bully
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Gobiiformes
Family: Eleotridae
Genus: Gobiomorphus
Species:
G. cotidianus
Binomial name
Gobiomorphus cotidianus
McDowall, 1975

The common bully (Gobiomorphus cotidianus), or toitoi (Māori), is a fish endemic to New Zealand, and is present throughout the country.[2][3] There are three other bully species that can be confused with common bullies. There are few characteristics of the common bully that separate it from other species. Vertical lines present on the cheek are a good defining characteristic, along with the location of head pores and scale patterns on the head[2] although these are hard to establish when seen in the wild. It is an amphidromous fish meaning it is able to survive in marine and fresh water environments.[4] It is a small fish only growing as big as 15 cm.[4] It can live in marine, fresh water or brackish water habitats and generally lives in benthic zones.[2] Some populations venture into the sea and occur in coastal rivers and streams while other land-locked populations have established in many shallow mainland lakes.[1] They generally prefer moderate to slow moving water which means they are the most likely bully species to be sighted. Its diet consists mainly of small benthic invertebrates but also involves insect larvae and crustacea.[5]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference iucn status 20 November 2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c NIWA (2013). "Common Bully". NIWA Taihoro Nukurangi. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  3. ^ "toitoi - Māori Dictionary". maoridictionary.co.nz. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
  4. ^ a b Michel, Christian; Hicks, Brendan J.; Stölting, Kai N.; Clarke, Andrew C.; Stevens, Mark I.; Tana, Ray; Meyer, Axel; van den Heuvel, Michael R. (2008). "Distinct migratory and non-migratory ecotypes of an endemic New Zealand eleotrid (Gobiomorphus cotidianus) – implications for incipient speciation in island freshwater fish species". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 8: 49. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-8-49. ISSN 1471-2148. PMC 2270262. PMID 18275608.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).