Other species
Both great white sharks and whale sharks are classified as endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Internationally, they are either accidentally caught as bycatch or even deliberately targeted for their fins, which achieve high prices as delicacies in Asia. Fortunately, finning - cutting off the fins of living animals - is banned in New Zealand. Since the animals reproduce only very slowly, they are particularly susceptible to overexploitation.
At around six tonnes and up to 10 meters in length, basking sharks are the world’s second largest fish. Despite their size and somewhat fearsome appearance, these are gentle giants who filter-feed and can sift plankton from some 1500 cubic metres of water per hour. Their liver can make up to 25% of their body weight and provides buoyancy.
The 35 cm, tall big-belly seahorse is a giants amongst its kind. The animals inhabit harbours and sheltered coastal bays in the south-west Pacific around New Zealand and Australia, where they feed on small crustaceans. Mature males develop a brood pouch on the belly into which the female lays her eggs. They are threatened by habitat loss, fisheries bycatch and over-exploitation. They are Collected for the international aquarium trade and dried in huge numbers for use in oriental medicines. All seahorses are listed on Appendix II of CITES, although Indonesia, Japan, Norway and South Korea opted out of the listing for seahorses.
Octopuses can grow up to a meter in length, have eight tentacle-like arms and expel clouds of ink to escape from predators. They live along rocky coasts in the shallow sublittoral zone.
Octopuses are masters of disguise and can change the colour and texture of their skin depending on their mood. They are also likely to be the most intelligent of all invertebrates.
Their brains are also large relative to their size, have folded lobes, similar to those of vertebrates and the electrical patterns they generate are similar to those of mammals. 500 million neurons underpin the animals’ advanced cognitive abilities and put octopuses close to the range of dogs.
At around six tonnes and up to 10 meters in length, basking sharks are the world’s second largest fish. Despite their size and somewhat fearsome appearance, these are gentle giants who filter-feed and can sift plankton from some 1500 cubic metres of water per hour. Their liver can make up to 25% of their body weight and provides buoyancy.
The 35 cm, tall big-belly seahorse is a giants amongst its kind. The animals inhabit harbours and sheltered coastal bays in the south-west Pacific around New Zealand and Australia, where they feed on small crustaceans. Mature males develop a brood pouch on the belly into which the female lays her eggs. They are threatened by habitat loss, fisheries bycatch and over-exploitation. They are Collected for the international aquarium trade and dried in huge numbers for use in oriental medicines. All seahorses are listed on Appendix II of CITES, although Indonesia, Japan, Norway and South Korea opted out of the listing for seahorses.
Octopuses can grow up to a meter in length, have eight tentacle-like arms and expel clouds of ink to escape from predators. They live along rocky coasts in the shallow sublittoral zone.
Octopuses are masters of disguise and can change the colour and texture of their skin depending on their mood. They are also likely to be the most intelligent of all invertebrates.
Their brains are also large relative to their size, have folded lobes, similar to those of vertebrates and the electrical patterns they generate are similar to those of mammals. 500 million neurons underpin the animals’ advanced cognitive abilities and put octopuses close to the range of dogs.
