Snout like a pig. Behaviour like a pig. This is a fish that roots for its dinner. The pigfish roots through the sediment with its fleshy, upturned nose. It snuffles for buried worms and crustaceans. The marbled brown and white body provides perfect camouflage against the sandy seafloor. Lie still on the bottom and it cannot be seen. That is the point. A fish that disappears when it stops moving. The Māori name Purumorua captures this behaviour perfectly. It compares the fish to pigs foraging in the forest. It is not a flashy fish. It does not school in shimmering clouds. It does not smash into baitfish on the surface. It just swims slowly across the bottom. It roots and snuffles. It disturbs the sediment as it searches for food. It is a bottom-foraging predator with an unappealing name. The lifestyle is fascinating. It is found around the South Island and southern North Island. The range extends from Cook Strait down to Stewart Island. The Kaikoura coast, Banks Peninsula and Otago are strongholds. They prefer sandy and muddy bottoms near rocky reefs and kelp forests. Sheltered bays with mixed substrate are ideal. They feed most actively during low light conditions. That pig-like snout roots through the sediment. Populations are considered stable. No one targets pigfish. It is too ugly. Too bony. Too weird. They turn up occasionally as bycatch in lobster pots and set nets. It is an accidental visitor to the deck. The pigfish does not care. It continues its slow, snuffling search across the seafloor. The sand is soft. The pigfish roots, snout plowing through the sediment, uncovering worms. It does not know it is ugly. It does not know it is weird. It just wants dinner.