New fish thread!

[Elltharis]

-SPECKLED RAY (Raja polystigma)

Location : Northeast Atlantic: known only from the western Mediterranean, more common along the African coasts.
Max length : 60cm

-NEROPHIS MACULATUS

Location : Eastern Atlantic: Portugal and the Azores. Mediterranean Sea: apparently most common in the Adriatic Sea and the western Mediterranean.
Max length : 30cm

-BLUESPOTTED CORNETFISH (Fistularia commersonii)

Location : Indo-Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to Rapa and Easter Island, north to southern Japan, south to Australia and New Zealand. Eastern Central Pacific: Mexico to Panama, including offshore islands
Max length : 160cm


-WHISKERED SOLE (Monochirus hispidus)

Location : Eastern Atlantic: Portugal and the Mediterranean to Ghana.
Max length : 20cm

[Elltharis]

-JACK-KNIFEFISH (Equetus lanceolatus)

Location : Western Atlantic: Bermuda and North Carolina, USA to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Max length : 60cm

-REDBARRED HAWKFISH (Cirrhitops fasciatus)

Location : Indo-Pacific: Madagascar, Réunion
Max length : 13cm

-FOXFACE (Siganus vulpinus)

Location : South Pacific, East Asia, Southwest Australia
Max length : 25cm


-OCELLATED TORPEDO (Torpedo torpedo)

Location : Mediterranean, Atlantic, English Channel and North Sea.
Max length : 60cm

[Elltharis]

-BANDTOOTH CONGER (Ariosoma balearicum)

Location : Eastern Atlantic: southern Portugal to Angola, including the Mediterranean. Western Atlantic: North Carolina, USA and northern Gulf of Mexico to northern South America. Nortwest Atlantic: Canada.
Max length : 200cm

-ROYAL FLAGFIN (Aulopus filamentosus)

Location : Eastern Atlantic: Canary Islands south to Cape Verde and Senegal. Also recorded from the Mediterranean. Western Central Atlantic: Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean.
Max length : 40cm

-GRAMMONUS ATER

Location : Eastern Atlantic: in the Mediterranean from the Balearic Islands to the Adriatic.
Max length : 12cm


-RED BANDFISH (Cepola macrophthalma)

Location : Eastern Atlantic: British Isles to north of Senegal, including the Mediterranean.
Max length : 80cm

[Elltharis]

-SILVER SCABBARDFISH (Lepidopus caudatus)

Location : Eastern Atlantic: France and western Mediterranean to Senegal. Southwest Pacific: Australia and New Zealand. Southeast Pacific: Peru.
Max length : 200cm

-STARRY WEEVER (Trachinus radiatus)

Location : Eastern Atlantic: Gibraltar to the Gulf of Guinea; probably further south. Known from the Mediterranean.
Max length : 30cm

-SAILFIN DRAGONET (Callionymus pusillus)

Location : Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea: Portuguese coast to as far north as Lisbon; also known from the northern Mediterranean including the Adriatic, Aegean and Black seas as well as Lebanon and Israel.
Max length : 14cm


-SILKY SHARK (Carcharhinus falciformis)

Location : Atlantic, Indo-Pacific.
Max length : 350cm

[Léo]

Bastard Red Cod, Pseudophycis breviuscula

Distribution: Off North Stradbroke Island, southern Queensland, to off Rottnest Island, Western Australia, including Tasmania. The species also occurs in the Tasman Sea north of Lord Howe Island, and in New Zealand. Inhabits sandy to rocky coastal areas at depths of 4-200 m.

Features: Dorsal fin 8–11 + 42–60; Anal fn 46–68; Caudal fin 24; Pectoral fin 19–27; Pelvic fin 5–6; Vertebrae 42–46; Pyloric caecae 6-8; Oblique scale rows intersecting lateral line 80-87; Scales between dorsal-fin origin and lateral line 7-9.

Fisheries: Although Bastard Red Cod are fairly common at depths of 30–60 m, it is a small species, and not considered commercially important.
PseudophyBreviusc3JKF.jpg

Longspine Flathead, Platycephalus grandispinis

Distribution: Inshore and continental shelf waters of Australia from Bundaberg (Queensland) to Lakes Entrance (Victoria), and off western South Australia to Shark Bay (Western Australia); not in Tasmania. Demersal on soft bottoms at depths of 12-104 m, preferring offshore waters.

Features: Dorsal fin I, VII, 13-14; Anal fin 14; Pectoral fin 19 or 20; Pelvic fin I, 5; Lateral line scales (pored) 70-82.

Size: 34 cm.

Colour: Yellowish-grey to brown dorsally, with numerous yellow spots, no cross bands; whitish ventrally. Caudal-fin upper half yellow, blackish lower half, no discrete dark blotches along posterior margin; dorsal and pectoral fins with brown spots on the spines and rays; anal fin whitish.
PlatycephLongispinisDH.jpg

Halimeda Ghostpipefish, Solenostomus halimeda Orr

Distribution: Known from the tropical Indo-west-central Pacific, including the Maldives, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Micronesia (Marshall Islands), Fiji and Rowley Shoals off northwest Australia. The Halimeda Ghostpipefish is usually seen near Halimeda algal beds in sheltered inshore areas and coral reefs to 23 m.

Features: Dorsal fin V + 16-18; anal fin 17-19; pectoral fin 22-25; pelvic fin I, 6; caudal fin 16; vertebrae 32.

Size: 7 cm

Colour: Usually greyish or green in colour, usually resembling the coralline alga Halimeda, often with darker speckling and white mottling; dermal papillae red; dark blotches often present on each interspinal membrane between 1st and 3rd dorsal fin spines. Halimeda Ghostpipefish are able to change colour to match their surroundings.
SolenostomHalimedEliasLevy.jpg

[Léo]

Western Spiny Seahorse, Hippocampus angustus

Distribution: Endemic to tropical waters of Western Australia, from Shark Bay, north to the Dampier Archipelago. Inhabits sheltered algal-covered reefs and seagrass beds to about 10 m, although the species has been recorded from depths to 30 m.

Features: Meristic features: Dorsal fin 17-19 (usually 18); Pectoral fin 15-19 (usually 16-17); trunk rings 11; tail rings 32-35 (usually 33-34); subdorsal rings 2 + 1.

Size: 160 mm.

Colour: Colour overall grey to brownish, often with a combination of white, yellow, orange or brown fine scribbly or net-like markings on the head and body; 5-6 distinctive dark irregular stripes across the snout; dorsal fin with a thin dusky submarginal line. In preservative - pale brown with thin dusky bars on snout and scribble markings on head and body.
HippocampAngustDH (1).jpg

Bicolor Combtooth Blenny, Ecsenius bicolor

Distribution: Found in the Australian EEZ from the Shark Bay region to Cartier Reef, Western Australia, and from Tijou Reef to the Solitary Islands, New South Wales; also at Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea, and at Cocos (Keeling) and Christmas islands in the Indian Ocean.

Biology; Oviparous. females lay demersal, adhesive eggs that are attached to the substrate via a filamentous, adhesive pad or pedestal. The larvae are planktonic, often in coastal waters.

EcseniusBicolorRLS.jpg


Island Mangrovegoby, Mugilogobius platystomus

Distribution: Distributed in northern Australia from Darwin NT (131°30'E) to Sarina, QLD (21°28'S) and elsewhere in coastal waters of the tropical west Pacific from the Indo-Australian Archipelago, Singapore and Palau.

Features: Meristic features: Dorsal fin VI + I, 7-9; Anal fin I, 7-9; Pectoral fin 14-17; Caudal fin (segmented rays) 15-16, (branched rays) 13-16; TRB 12-18; Gill rakers 3-4 + 7-8 = 10-12; Vertebrae 10-11 + 15-16 = 26.

Size: 5cm.

Colour: Pale greyish brown to yellowish brown, scale margins darkest, whitish grey below, with highly variable dark brown oblique to vertical oval blotches and bars on sides, first slanting over pectoral base and ending on nape above opercle, last just before caudal base with centre intensified as square blotch; small brown, square saddles, blotches and spots crossing dorsal midline, some coalescing with body bars. Nape with brown spots and irregular to vermiculate streaks on either side of midline; interorbital and snout with brown vermiculations; 2 horizontal brown stripes crossing side of head. Pectoral base dusky brown to yellowish, with horizontal dark bar crossing at midpoint. First dorsal fin with proximal third dusky to translucent, centre of fin with blackish streak widening posteriorly to black blotch, outer part of fin whitish to dusky with dusky to blackish margin; free tips of spines dusky to whitish; second dorsal dusky proximally, with submarginal white to translucent band, fin margin dusky to dark grey; proximal two-thirds of fin dusky with about two rows of vertically oriented blackish or brown streaks or oval blotches, two evenly spaced dark brown blotches at base of fin. Anal fin dusky to dark grey with whitish to translucent margin. Caudal fin dusky, membrane darker than rays, forming faint narrow streaks; two slightly obliquely aligned oval black spots at base. Pectoral fin with rays dusky to brown, membranes translucent. Pelvic fins dusky to dark brown, fraenum paler.
MugilogobiusPlatystomusDaveWilson.jpg

Bigbelly Seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis

Distribution; Known from temperate waters of New Zealand and southern Australia, where it occurs from about South West Rocks, New South Wales, southwards to the northern Great Australian Bight, South Australia, and south to the Derwent Estuary, Tasmania. Bigbelly seahorses live in a range of habitats from low rocky reefs in shallow estuaries, to deep tidal channels and deeper coastal reefs to 100m. They cling to seagrasses, sponges, macroalgae such as kelp holdfasts and other structures on reefs.

Features: Meristic features: Dorsal fin 25-33; Anal fin 4; Pectoral fin 14-16; trunk rings 12-13; tail rings 44-48; subdorsal rings 3-5 + 1-2; Rings supporting dorsal fin 4 trunk and one tail ring

Size: 35 cm.

Colour: The colour is variable, ranging from overall whitish, grey, yellow, orange, purplish to brown, usually with paler sides and a variable number of black spots on the head and trunk. Individuals living in shallow bays are usually brownish with many dark spots, whilst those in deep waters tend to be plain with brighter colours similar to the sponges on which they live. The tail may have indistinct banding.
HippocampABdomJKFinn.jpg

[Léo]

Queensland Seahorse, Hippocampus spinosissimus

Distribution: Endemic to tropical waters of north-eastern Australia, from Princess Charlotte Bay to Southport, Queensland; benthic in inner reef waters on rubble substrates and in sponge and seagrass habitats near coral reefs at 20-63 m; often attached to corals in deep current-prone channels between reefs or islands.

Features: Meristic features: Dorsal fin 16-18 (rarely 16 or 18); Anal fin 4; Pectoral fin 16-19 (rarely 16 or 19); trunk rings 10-11 (rarely 10); tail rings 35-36; subdorsal rings 2 + 1.

Size: 125 mm.

Colour:
Colour variable in life, snout yellow-orange to deep red or dark brown, front of head usually darker or dusky; pale grey saddles or bands with dark margins over trunk and tail, one broadly over first 3 trunk rings, a narrower saddle on 7th ring usually reaching ventral ridge, and one or two broad and narrow saddles anteriorly on tail. Deep water specimens usually red or orange, possibly matching colours of corals and sponges at that depth. In preservative - pale to blackish-brown with dusky or grey saddle-like markings.

Feeding: Carnivores. Like most other seahorses, this species presumably preys on small crustaceans and other planktonic invertebrates.
Hippocampus-queenslandicus.jpg


Halfspine Seahorse, Hippocampus semispinosus

Depth: trawled

Distribution: Tropical West Pacific, known from the East Alas Strait, Indonesia and the Timor Sea and possibly from the Northwest Shelf, WA; trawled on muddy substrate habitats near mangroves to deeper muddy channels.

Features: Meristics: D 18; P 16-17; trunk rings 11; tail rings 35-36; subdorsal rings 2 + 1.
Head and body: Trunk slender, head long, about ¾ trunk length; snout long, slender, more than half head length.

Size: 137 mm.

Colour: In life, female coloration variable, from dark red to yellow with grey saddle-like blotches over 1st and 2nd, and 6th to 8th trunk rings, and over 3rd to 5th tail rings; tip of snout pale. Some males dark brown with several large creamy-white blotches laterally on trunk. In preservative - pale to brownish with pale blotches on trunk, snout, pouch creamy-white.

Feeding: Carnivores. Like most other seahorses, this species presumably feeds by sucking small prey items such as crustaceans and planktonic zooplankton into its mouth.
Hippocampus-semispinosus.jpg

Tripod Spiderfish, Bathypterois grallator

Distribution: Recorded in Australia from off Northwest Cape, Western Australia, and east of Flinders Island, Tasmania. Elsewhere, the species is widespread in the Indo-west-central-Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Inhabits continental slope and abyssal plain waters.

Feeding: Their extremely long caudal and pelvic rays enables Tripod Spiderfish to "stand" up off the bottom. They often orientate their pectoral fins in an upright or forward position, which may be a sensory mechanism for detecting the movement of prey and feed mostly on benthopelagic organisms such as small crustaceans and gelatinous plankton drifting by in the current.

Biology: Spiderfishes are synchronous hermaphrodites, and have ovotestes containing functional male and female reproductive tissue.
BathypteroisGrallator2NOAA.jpg

[Léo]

Longtail Weedfish, Heteroclinus sp 3

Depth: to 5 m

Habitat: Reef associated

Max Size: 14 cm
HeteroclinSp3RK.jpg

Coleman's Weedfish

Distribution: Inhabits red macroalgae on exposed coastal reefs and offshore islands in depths to about 8 m.

Max Size: 10 cm
HeterclinSp4RK.jpg


Beaked Salmon, Gonorynchus greyi

Distribution: Widespread in Australia, mostly in the temperate waters of the southern half from off Fraser Island (Queensland) to Shark Bay (Western Australia). Also at Lord Howe and Norfolk islands in the Tasman Sea, and recently recorded from the Northern Territory. Found elsewhere in the South Pacific from Australia to off Chile.

Features: Dorsal fin 12-13; Anal fin 10; Caudal fin 19; Pectoral fin 10; Pelvic fin 9; Lateral line scales 172-178.

Size: 50 cm.

Colour: Sandy coloured, underside pale; juveniles with a line of fine dark spots along centre of each side, adults uniform except for fins; most fins with black blotches, one just below tip of dorsal, another at tip of anal, caudal with blotch at tip of lower lobe and broad band near tip of upper, tips of pectoral and pelvics blackish in large individuals.

Feeding: Canivore - feeds by probing the sandy bottom with its tube-like mouth in search of invertebrate prey.
GonorynGreyiRandall.jpg

[Léo]

Inflated Whiptail, Macrouroides inflaticeps

Biology: No light organ

Depth: 285-410 m, Habitat: Bathypelagic

Feeding: Carnivore,
Macrouroides-inflaticeps.jpg


Whiteblotch Snake Blenny, Ophiclinus pectoralis


Distribution: Endemic to south-western Western Australia from the Recherche Archipelago to Rottnest Island. Inhabitsshallow rocky, weedy and sandy areas.

Features: Dorsal fin XLII-XLIV, 1; Anal fin II, 25-28; Caudal fin 13; Pectoral fin 11-12.; Pelvic fin I, 2.
Body shallow (15-16% SL). Head small (22-23%, SL); eyes small (18-19% HL); tube of anterior nostrils with fleshy flap at tip; mouth small (upper jaw length 33-34% HL), nearly horizontal, maxillae reaching just beyond centre of eyes; roof of mouth with curved row of teeth.

Biology: Viviparous - internal fertilisation and females give birth to live young.
OphiclinusPectRK.jpg

Coleman's Seahorse, Hippocampus colemani


Distribution: Known from Lord Howe Island, Tasman Sea, Australia, and Papua New Guinea. At Lord Howe Island, the species was found in the lagoon on coarse sand amongst Zostera and Halophila seagrasses with fine filamentous algae on their leaves that matched the filaments on the seahorse.

Features: Dorsal fin 12-13; Anal fin absent; Pectoral fin 10; trunk rings 11; tail rings 27-29; subdorsal rings about 4.

Distribution

Known from Lord Howe Island, Tasman Sea, Australia, and Papua New Guinea. At Lord Howe Island, the species was found in the lagoon on coarse sand amongst Zostera and Halophila seagrasses with fine filamentous algae on their leaves that matched the filaments on the seahorse.

Features

Dorsal fin 12-13; Anal fin absent; Pectoral fin 10; trunk rings 11; tail rings 27-29; subdorsal rings about 4.
Body fleshy; head small, about half trunk length, strongly angled down onto trunk; snout short, about equal to eye diameter; trunk very deep; a single relatively large gill opening present on neck ridge directly behind the head; nasal ridge well-developed in front of eye; trunk and tail ridges poorly developed; tail thin.
Spines reduced to low tubercles, somewhat enlarged on 4th, 7th and 11th trunk rings, largest tubercles below dorsal-fin base and on lateral part of head, some with dermal appendages. Nasal spine present as a well-developed ridge before the eye.
Coronet low, rounded with a tentacle-like dermal appendage anteriorly.
Dorsal-fin base greatly elevated posteriorly, forming a triangular hump on the back; anal fin absent.

Size: 22 mm.

Colour: Body mostly pale whitish to yellowish; trunk with white circular or elliptical markings, outlined with narrow red lines; shoulder-ring tubercles white; head white on nape above eyes, extending over snout to tip of mouth; several dusky brown bands radiating from eye; dermal appendages brownish-red; tail slightly more brownish with red markings.

Feeding: Unknown; presumably feeds on minute invertebrates.
HColemaniParaNC2.jpg

[Léo]

Speartooth Shark, Glyphis glyphis

Distribution: Adelaide and Alligator Rivers, NT, and Wenlock and Bizant River, QLD, and probably others rivers of Gulf of Carpentaria and eastern Queensland. The species also occurs in the Western Province, Papua New Guinea, and elsewhere in the tropical, west Pacific

Features: First dorsal fin broad, triangular; second dorsal fin relatively large, about three-quarters the height of the first dorsal fin, about equal to anal fin; snout short, broadly rounded; upper jaw teeth broadly triangular, erect and serrated, with no cusps.

Feeding: Carnivore - feeds on bony fishes and crustaceans.
GlyphisGlyphisRichardPillans.jpg

Threadfin Dragonfish, Echiostoma barbatum

Distribution: Off southern Queensland, around the southern half of Australia to off Dampier, Western Australia. Elsewhere the species is widespread in all oceans at tropical to temperate latitudes - at mesopelagic and bathypelagic depths.

Size: 32 cm a 37 cm.

Colour:
Blue-black to dark brown in life; fins slightly paler; 1st pectoral-fin ray black; stem of barbel black, terminal bulbs and filaments blue; photophores emitting blue and pinkish light in life.
EchiostBarbatRobertZugaro.jpg Echiostoma77.jpg

Wilson's Mangrovegoby, Mugilogobius wilsoni

Distribution: Known only from northern Australia between the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, WA and Mackay, QLD; a tropical benthic species, inhabiting small muddy bottomed mangrove creeks in brackish water or freshwater in tidal streams.

Size: 4 cm.

Biology: Oviparous, benthic spawners. Eggs hatch after 6-7 days at about 27°C. Larvae very small and free-swimming.
MugilogobWilsoniNeilArmstro.jpg