Fun Morwong Facts For Kids
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Do you admire pet fishes to enhance the beauty of the aquarium or is staring at and talking to marine creatures is your favorite pass time? If the answer to either of the question is a yes, read about one of the marine species – a morwong.
Morwongs are ray-finned fishes from the family Cheilodactylidae. They are species of fish found in shallow and temperate waters of southeastern Australia and New Zealand.
The scientific name of a morwong is Cheilodactylus. There are 18 species of morwong recorded including jackass morwong (Nemadactylus macropterus), red morwong (Morwong fuscus), blue morwong (Nemadactylus douglasii), dusky morwong (Dactylophora nigricans), red-lipped morwong (Cheilodactylus rubrolabiatus), blackbarred morwong (Goniistius quadricornis), and spottedtail morwong or flag-fish morwong (Cheilodactylus zonatus).
Morwongs are brightly-colored fish found on the continental shelf and upper slopes of shallow water that range near reefs (rocky bottom). The term morwong is also used for unrelated fish inhabiting the Australian sea and other water bodies. Morwongs are also called moki, sea carp or morwong carp, jackassfish, snapper, fingerfin, and butterfish.
If the uniqueness of morwong makes you interested to read more about similar species, you can read about these monkfish facts and gar facts.
Morwong Interesting Facts
What type of animal is a morwong?
Morwong is a genus comprising of species of ray-finned fishes inhabiting the continental shelves and reefs or rocky bottom of water bodies nearby Australia and New Zealand. Jackass morwong (Nemadactylus macropterus), red morwong (Morwong fuscus), and blue morwong (Nemadactylus douglasii) are some of the known morwong species.
What class of animal does a morwong belong to?
A morwong belongs to the class of Actinopterygii. More specifically, it is ray-finned species of fish under the order Perciformes.
How many morwongs are there in the world?
The size of the population of the morwongs is not yet computed. The fish belonging to the genus Morwong are recorded to face vulnerability with reasons poorly studied. It is speculated that the fish is at threat due to practices such as over-fishing.
Where does a morwong live?
A morwong natively belongs to the shallow and temperate water bodies and sea of southeastern Australia and New Zealand, including Sydney. While Australia and New Zealand remain the native locations of morwong on the map, fishes of the genus Morwong are also spotted and in and around the fisheries of Sydney.
Species of morwong also extend to various other destinations, for instance, black-barred morwong (Tokyo).
What is a morwong's habitat?
Morwongs commonly live up to considerable depths of the continental shelf, reefs, or rocky bottom of temperate and subtropical waters. Usually, the habitat of morwong is confined to the coast or in the upper slopes of the sea of the Southern Hemisphere.
More precisely, they are found deep inside the sea nearby Australia and New Zealand. Additionally, they also live in the fisheries of Sydney.
Who do morwongs live with?
Morwong are reported to live in schools. While the behavior of these fishes belonging to the genus Morwong differs from one species to other, the species are speculated to be similar as well as distinctive, considering their habitat, and description of their appearances.
How long does a morwong live?
According to the search, Cheilodactylus live up to 16 years on average, while females are seen to live up to 40 years. The average life span of morwongs varies from species to species, like the jackass morwong, red morwong. Adults are known to attain maturity at three years of age.
How do they reproduce?
There is a lack of scientific search initiated on the genus Morwong. The species of Cheilodactylus have distinctive reproductive behavior, while some breed year-round, others mate in a specific breeding season. Adults attain maturity at the age of three.
What is their conservation status?
While the conservation status of a morwong, Cheilodactylus, is Not Evaluated under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. While species of morwong, red morwong, jackass morwong, from the family of Cheilodactylidae, are Vulnerable in nature due to over-fishing and threats from predators.
Morwong Fun Facts
What do morwongs look like?
Morwongs and Cheilodactylus have a whole gilled and gutted small body, with various colors including red, blue, white, brown, and pink colors. They have creamy flesh.
Different species of fish have different colors and patterns over the body. The size and length of the fish range from small to large.
Pectoral fin with six to seven rays, anal fin with three spines, and anal fin are some of the similar features highlighted in the search. While a gray morwong has a blue-fin and silvery body, a blue morwong has blue and yellow rays with elongated pectoral fin and thick lips.
Other species of Cheilodactylidae have various patterns over the body. For instance, red lip morwong with spots on its fin, and crested morwong with stripes.
How cute are they?
With a variety of patterns and colors, the fish found in Australia and its south is found to be very attractive.
How do they communicate?
The search done on the Australian species of Cheilodactylus does not highlight any specific mechanism for communication. Commonly, fish and other marine creatures are known to communicate using various gestures and motions.
How big is a morwong?
The length of morwong or snapper occurs in Australian waters, ranges from 9-47 in (23-120 cm), which is more than ten times smaller than one of the giant fish, a giant oarfish.
How fast can a morwong swim?
The speed of a morwong, Australian fish, remains undeciphered. While the Australian fish is speculated to have a considerable swimming speed that occurs to differ from adults to juveniles or from one fish species to another. Yet, the speed of the morwongs can't be compared to that of the fastest swimmers, like the black marlin.
How much does a morwong weigh?
The weight of the Australian fishes, morwongs, ranges from 10-150 lb (4.5-68 kg), which is quite negligible compared to the heaviest fish caught, the whale shark.
What are the male and female names of the species?
There are no sex-specific names assigned to the Australian species of morwongs.
What would you call a baby morwong?
While there is no name labeled for a baby of the morwongs caught in Australia and its south, it can be called a fry or fingerling.
What do they eat?
Morwongs (snapper) feed on invertebrates found at the depths of the coast, waters, or ocean bottom. Their diet comprises polychaete worms, crustaceans, mollusks, and echinoderms. They catch their prey during the night.
Are they dangerous?
Morwongs found and caught in the Southern Hemisphere of the map do not possess any danger. Rather, the morwong, having creamy flesh inheriting distinctive flavor, is caught during fishing activities by humans to feed upon. Also, they are preyed upon by predatory fishes, sharks, and other marine mammals found in the Southern Hemisphere.
Would they make a good pet?
Morwongs make the ideal pets and are quite adaptive to captivity. The small and big fish with various colorations ranging from pink, white, brown, blue, and red colors, is petted and caught to beautify the aquarium.
Did you know...
The morwong is caught year-round but is mostly concentrated in the south.
Morwongs can be used instead of snapper and red emperor to create an affordable centerpiece.
There are 18 subspecies under the whole genus of Morwong, which vary on the basis of size, being small and considerably large, color and pattern.
The morwong, especially adults, are more active at night.
Morwongs have a considerably large number of scales, while the specific type of scales is yet to be discovered.
A morwong has creamy flesh, which inherits a unique and different flavor. The taste of the morwong also depends on the species of morwong being consumed.
Morwong as a whole genus is preyed upon by humans, and its predators such as predatory fishes, sharks, and other marine mammals. Humans consume morwongs by either baking or barbecuing or frying them. Morwongs inherit unique and different tastes depending on the type of morwong.
How did morwong fish get their name?
The morwong is of considerable size and is found in various colors and patterns. There is no specific cause justifying its name. The morwong is also called moki, sea carp, jackassfish, snapper, fingerfin, and butterfish. Moreover, many unrelated fish known as morwongs are recorded in the Southern Hemisphere.
What are the different types of morwong?
There are 18 species of morwong recorded in the Southern Hemisphere concentrating in Australia and its south. The genus Morwong comprises red morwong, jackass morwong, blue morwong, crested morwong, flag morwong, spottedtail morwong, ephedra morwong, sweetlip morwong, striped morwong. Morwongs vary in size, color, and other characteristics.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these pilchard facts and redbreast sunfish facts.
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable morwong coloring pages.
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As a skilled content writer, Gurpuneet has written and managed engaging content for multiple websites and companies. Driven by a passion for helping young people achieve their full potential, she brings a unique perspective to her work. She is currently pursuing a degree in Economics from Sri Guru Gobind Singh College Of Commerce. With extensive experience as a tutor, Gurpuneet has made a significant impact by providing guidance and academic support to students. Her dedication extends beyond tutoring as she has volunteered with Action India, where she offered medical assistance and educational aid to underprivileged communities. Additionally, Gurpuneet has contributed to the creation of student study guides for various educational agencies.
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