# Greenbone

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenbone
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{{Short description|Species of ray-finned fish}}
{{About|the species|the film|Green Bones{{!}}''Green Bones''}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=July 2024}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Odax pullus (Greenbone).jpg
| image_caption = 
| image2 = {{Easy CSS image crop|Image=Odax pullus 607579273.jpg|desired_width=250|crop_left_perc=15|crop_right_perc=10|crop_top_perc=20|crop_bottom_perc=15}}
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Russell, B. |author2=Clements, K.D. |author3=Choat, J.H. |author4=Rocha, L.A. |author5=Myers, R. |author6=Lazuardi, M.E. |author7=Muljadi, A. |author8=Pardede, S. |author9=Rahardjo, P. |date=2012 |title=''Odax pullus'' |volume=2012 |article-number=e.T190678A17774407 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T190678A17774407.en |access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref>
| taxon = Odax pullus
| authority = ([J. R. Forster](/source/Johann_Reinhold_Forster), 1801)
| synonyms = {{collapsible list|
* ''Scarus pullus'' <small>J. R. Forster, 1801</small>
* ''Callyodon coregonoides'' <small>Parkinson, 1843</small> (ambiguous)
* ''Odax vittatus'' <small>J. Richardson & Solander, 1843</small>
* ''Coregonoides vittatus'' <small>Solander, 1843</small> (ambiguous)
}}
| synonyms_ref = <ref name = Fishbase>{{FishBase|Odax|pullus|month=August|year=2019}}</ref>
}}
 
'''''Odax pullus''''', known by the names '''greenbone''', '''butterfish''' or its [Māori language](/source/M%C4%81ori_language) name '''mararī''', or '''rarī,'''<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Leach |first1=B. Foss |last2=Davidson |first2=Janet M. |last3=Allen |first3=Melinda S. |date=2025-03-13 |title=The estimation of live fish size from archaeological cranial bones of the New Zealand Greenbone Odax pullus |url=https://tuhinga.arphahub.com/article/135525/ |journal=Tuhinga |language=en |volume=36 |pages=1–22 |doi=10.3897/tuhinga.36.135525 |doi-access=free |issn=2253-5861}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Leach |first1=B. Foss |last2=Davidson |first2=Janet M. |last3=Allen |first3=Melinda S. |date=2025-03-13 |title=The estimation of live fish size from archaeological cranial bones of the New Zealand Greenbone Odax pullus |url=https://tuhinga.arphahub.com/article/135525/ |journal=Tuhinga |language=en |volume=36 |pages=1–22 |doi=10.3897/tuhinga.36.135525 |doi-access=free |issn=2253-5861}}</ref> is a [species](/source/species) of [ray-finned fish](/source/ray-finned_fish), a [weed whiting](/source/weed_whiting) from the [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) [Odacidae](/source/Odacidae), which is found around [New Zealand](/source/New_Zealand).  It is of minor importance to local [commercial fisheries](/source/commercial_fisheries).<ref name = Fishbase/>

==Names==
''Odax pullus'' is commonly known in [English](/source/New_Zealand_English) as the '''greenbone''', the '''butterfish''' or the '''greenbone butterfish'''. In the indigenous [Māori language](/source/M%C4%81ori_language), the species has several names: {{lang|mi|kōeaea}},<ref>{{Māori Dictionary|15357|Kōeaea}}</ref> {{lang|mi|marare}},<ref>{{Māori Dictionary|42971|Marare}}</ref> {{lang|mi|mararī}},<ref>{{Māori Dictionary|3697|Mararī}}</ref> {{lang|mi|matohe}}<ref>{{Māori Dictionary|42972|Matohe}}</ref> and {{lang|mi|tarao}}.<ref>{{Māori Dictionary|44513|Tarao}}</ref>

==Description==
Greenbone fish are [protogynous hermaphrodites](/source/protogynous_hermaphrodites), beginning life as female and a proportion becoming male later in life. Young fish begin life with a golden-yellow colour, developing into a dark green-blue as the fish become juveniles. Adult fish are typically brown-yellow in colour.<ref name="Secrets" />

This species reaches a length of {{convert|40|cm|in}} [SL](/source/fish_measurement) and has been recorded as reaching {{convert|1.5|kg|lb}}. Once the fish reach a length of {{convert|40|cm|in}}, approximately half of the fish develop into males, who have a bright-blue colour.<ref name="Secrets" /><gallery mode="packed" heights="160">
File:Odax pullus 191237471 (cropped).jpg|A younger golden-yellow ''Odax pullus'' in a kelp forest
File:Green-boned Butterfish, Lyall Bay, Wellington 6022, New Zealand imported from iNaturalist photo 24156535.jpg|As their name implies, the bones of the species are blue-green in colour
</gallery>

==Distribution and habitat==
[[File:Odax pullus 492181348.jpg|thumb|At [Wellington](/source/Wellington_Region) (NZ)]]''Odax pullus'' is common in New Zealand coastal waters, particularly around the [South Island](/source/South_Island).<ref name="Secrets">{{cite Q|Q114871191|pp=142-146}}</ref> Its range includes the [Chatham Islands](/source/Chatham_Islands), [Antipodes Islands](/source/Antipodes_Islands) and [Bounty Islands](/source/Bounty_Islands) but it is not present around the [Three Kings Islands](/source/Three_Kings_Islands), where it is replaced by the [endemic](/source/Endemism) [bluefinned butterfish](/source/bluefinned_butterfish) ''O. cyanoallix''.<ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021" />

It inhabits shallow, rocky areas with [brown algae](/source/brown_algae) growth, mainly ''[Carpophyllum](/source/Carpophyllum)''.

==Diet==
[[File:Odax pullus 592206626 (cropped).jpg|thumb|[Spearfishing](/source/Spearfishing) greenbone]]
Greenbones are primarily herbivorous, feeding mostly on brown seaweeds.<ref name="Secrets"/>

==In a human context==

Rarī is a traditional [Māori](/source/M%C4%81ori_people) food-source,<ref name=":0" /> and developed a folk reputation for being troublemakers. The name rarī over time became used to describe people who were troublemakers as well.<ref name="Secrets"/> The fish was more commonly eaten in southern New Zealand, and typically caught using large pole nets which used kelp as a camouflage.<ref name="Secrets"/>

Early European settlers similarly had a poor reputation for the fish, until a public health campaign in the 1920s by the [Department of Health](/source/Ministry_of_Health_(New_Zealand)), who encouraged people to eat the fish due to its high levels of iodine.<ref name="Secrets"/><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Leach |first1=B. Foss |last2=Davidson |first2=Janet M. |last3=Allen |first3=Melinda S. |date=2025-03-13 |title=The estimation of live fish size from archaeological cranial bones of the New Zealand Greenbone Odax pullus |url=https://tuhinga.arphahub.com/article/135525/ |journal=Tuhinga |volume=36 |pages=1–22 |doi=10.3897/tuhinga.36.135525 |doi-access=free |issn=2253-5861}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1971219}}

Category:Odax
Category:Fish described in 1801
Category:Taxa named by Johann Reinhold Forster
Category:Endemic marine fish of New Zealand

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Greenbone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenbone) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenbone?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.