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Story: Coastal fish

Blue moki

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Blue moki

Belonging to the same family (Latrididae) as the trumpeter (Latris lineata), the blue moki (Latridopsis ciliaris) is a large fish which grows to around 90 centimetres. They commonly live over muddy bottoms and eat crabs, other crustaceans, shellfish and worms, sucking them from the mud. The oldest blue moki live for over 30 years.

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Natural Sciences Image Library of New Zealand

Reference: DSCF0774

by Peter E. Smith

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How to cite this page

Carl Walrond, Coastal fish – Fish of the open sea floor, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/8829/blue-moki (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Carl Walrond, published 2 March 2009.