| Aplodactylus westralis | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Aplodactylidae |
| Genus: | Aplodactylus |
| Species: | A. westralis |
| Binomial name | |
| Aplodactylus westralis Russell, 1987 | |
Aplodactylus westralis, the Western sea carp or cockatoo morwong, is a species of marine ray finned fish, one of the marblefishes belonging to the family Aplodactylidae. It is found in the eastern Indian Ocean off the coast of Western Australia.
Aplodactylus westralis was first formally described in 1987 by the Australian ichthyologist Barry C. Russell with the type locality given as Canal Rocks at Cape Naturaliste in Western Australia. [1] The specific name refers to Western Australia. [2]
Aplodactylus westralis has an elongate body which has a depth equivalent to between a quarter and a fifth of its standard length. It has a short snout and a rounded head which has a small mouth which is slightly downturned and has fleshy lips, the upper lip projecting. The jaws have small, The jaws have small, lanceolate teeth set on 5-6 rows in the jaws. The outermost row has the largest teeth and there is a small crescent shaped patch of vomerine teeth. There are two pairs of nostrils, the front pair have fleshy flap with small tentacles on the front and rear margins. There is a wide, flattened spine in the operculum which does not reach the margin. The dorsal fin has a long base but it is nearly split in two by a deep and wide incision between the spiny and soft rayed parts. [3] The dorsal fin contains 17-18 spines and 18-19 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 7 soft rays. [4] It has large pectoral fins which may be longer than the head and the lowest 5-6 rays are unbranched and fleshy. The body is covered in small, cycloid scales which are embedded in the skin, these extend on to the cheeks and operculum and create a sheath along base of the spiny portion of the dorsal fin. [3] The largest total length recorded is 34.7 cm (13.7 in). [4] The overall colour of this species is brown or slaty grey marked with six dark saddle blotches on the back and upper flanks, these are replaced below the lateral line by irregular bars which continue on the midline of the abdomen. Between the saddles and bars the skin is pale brown or whitish, sometimes these are very small or merge to create pale mottling, with abundant light brown or whitish spots, roughly the same width as the diameter of the pupil, mainly on the head and the caudal, dorsal and anal fins. [3]
Aplodactylus westralis is endemic to southwestern Australia where it occurs from the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia to Rottnest Island in Western Australia. it is a common fish on rocky reefs where there are beds of seaweed at depths down to 20 m (66 ft). [3]
Aplodactylus westralis is a herbivorous fish with a diet that is dominated by brown algae. [5]
Cirrhitidae, the hawkfishes, are a family of marine perciform ray-finned fishes found in tropical seas and which are associated with coral reefs.
The porae, the grey morwong, blue morwong, butterfish, Douglas' morwong, Eastern blue morwong, great perch, queen snapper, rubberlip morwong or silver morwong, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, traditionally regarded as belonging to the family Cheilodactylidae, the members of which are commonly known as morwongs. found around south eastern Australia and the north eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand at depths of about 10 to 100 metres, on sandy and rocky coasts.
Chironemus is a genus of marine ray finned fish, commonly known as kelpfishes, belonging to the family Chironemidae. They are found in the temperate waters of the Southern Pacific Ocean.
Aplodactylus arctidens, the marblefish or southern seacarp, is a species of marine ray finned fish, one of the marblefishes belonging to the family Aplodactylidae. It is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.
The notchheaded marblefish is a species of marine ray finned fish, one of the marblefishes belonging to the family Aplodactylidae. It is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.
Aplodactylus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, commonly known as marblefishes or sea carps. It is the only genus in the monogeneric family, Aplodactylidae. The fishes in this genus are found in the south eastern Indian Ocean and the southern Pacific Ocean.
Latridopsis forsteri, the bastard trumpeter, copper moki, red bastard trumpeter, red, white and silver bastard trumpeter, silver bastard trumpeter, silver trumpeter or white bastard trumpeter, is a species of marine ray finned fish belonging to the family Latridae, the trumpeters. It is native to the eastern Indian Ocean and southwestern Pacific Ocean. This species is commercially important.
St. Paul's fingerfin, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, traditionally regarded as belonging to the family Cheilodactylidae, the members of which are commonly known as morwongs. It is native to the southwestern Indian Ocean and southeastern Atlantic Ocean.
The spotted hawkfish, the blotched hawkfish, redbarred hawkfish, boar hawkfish or threadfin hawkfish, ≥is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a hawkfish belonging to the family Cirrhitidae. It is widespread throughout the tropical waters of the Indo-West Pacific region. A common species, it is found in rocky and coral areas of subtidal coastal reefs.
The brownstriped grunt, also known as the burro, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grunt belonging to the family Haemulidae. It is native to the western Atlantic Ocean.
The coral hawkfish, the pixy hawkfish or sharp-headed hawkfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a hawkfish belonging to the family Cirrhitidae. It is native to tropical reefs of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. It occasionally is found in the aquarium trade.
The Redspotted Hawkfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a Hawkfish belonging to the family Cirrhitidae. It is found at depths from 2 to 46 m on tropical reefs in the Western Atlantic. The Redspotted Hawkfish is also found in the aquarium trade.
Latridopsis is a genus of marine ray finned fish belonging to the family Latridae, the trumpeters. They are found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean and the southeastern Indian Ocean.
Etelis is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lutjanidae, the snappers. They are mostly native to the Indian and Pacific oceans with one species (E. oculatus) native to the western Atlantic Ocean.
Plectorhinchus gibbosus, commonly known as the Harry hotlips, black sweetlips, brown sweetlips, dusky sweetlips, gibbous sweetlips, hairy hotlips or humpback sweetlips, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweetlips belonging to the subfamily Plectorhinchinae, one of two subfamilies in the family Haemulidae, the grunts. It is native to the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Macolor macularis, the midnight snapper, midnight seaperch or black and white snapper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.
Etelis carbunculus, the deep-water red snapper, ruby snapper or longtail snapper, is a species of ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific region.
The rock cale, also known as the cockatoo fish, cocky, joey, rock cocky or sea carp, is a species of marine ray finned fish, one of the marblefishes belonging to the family Aplodactylidae. It is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.
Aplodactylus punctatus, the Zamba marblefish, is a species of marine ray finned fish, one of the marblefishes belonging to the family Aplodactylidae. It is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean of the west coast of South America.
The silver trumpter is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Latridae, the trumpeters. It has only been recorded from the Foundation Seamounts in the South Pacific Ocean.