Spawning of the frostfish,Lepidopus caudatus(Pisces: Trichiuridae), in New Zealand waters

Abstract

Frostfish spawning, as indicated by the presence of planktonic eggs, was observed mainly in north‐eastern, but also in south‐western, New Zealand waters in spring to autumn. Spawning takes place in the afternoon in outer shelf waters 50–200 m deep, with surface temperatures and salinities between 17.5 and 22.0°C and 35.3 and 35.6‰ respectively. Egg and oil droplet diameters ranged from 1.65 to 1.75 mm and 0.40 to 0.43 mm respectively.