NEW ZEALAND SMELT

The 'New Zealand smelt', 'New Zealand common smelt', or 'New Zealand cucumber fish', ''Retropinna retropinna'', is a smelt of the genus ''Retropinna'', found only in New Zealand at shallow depths in estuaries and rivers. Their length is between 8 and 13 cm.
The New Zealand smelt is a small common fish found in freshwater as well as in estuaries and coastal waters. It is slender, almost cylindrical, with a rounded head, small mouth, and large eyes. There are two dorsal fins, both being set well back on the body, the second being a small adipose fin.
New Zealand smelts are a bright silvery colour with tinges of amber on the back and a purple sheen along the middle of each flank.
They are commonly netted as part of the whitebait catch in New Zealand but can easily be distinguished from the genuine whitebait by their larger silvery appearance and cucumber smell, from which they get one of their common names.

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★ Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, ''Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand'', (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8