Foxfish

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Foxfish
BodianFrenchiiBenKJones.jpg
Foxfish Bodianus frenchii off Rottnest Island
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Labriformes
Family: Labridae
Genus: Bodianus
Species:
B. frenchii
Binomial name
Bodianus frenchii
(Klunzinger, 1880)
Synonyms [2]
  • Cossyphus frenchiiKlunzinger, 1879
  • Trochocopus rufusW. J. Macleay, 1878

The foxfish, Bodianus frenchii, is a species of wrasse native to the temperate marine waters in southwestern Western Australia to eastern South Australia, and from southern Queensland to eastern Tasmania, at depths between 10 and 40 m. [3] A gap in the distribution of foxfish occurs through Victoria. [3] Its length is up to 45 cm.

Contents

Description

The foxfish is brown, red, or orange with two spots on the back. When foxfish are juveniles, they are brown and have three yellow patches with a black area around the pectoral fin. [3]

Habitat and biology

Foxfish are typically found living under ledges and in caves. [3] It is a long lived species which may attain ages of 60 or more years. Foxfish are protogynous hermaphrodites, and they spawn several times during the late spring and the summer. [4] They form distinct pairs when breeding. [2]

Human uses

The foxfish is caught as bycatch in trawl fisheries off the coasts of New South Wales and Western Australia. In Western Australia it is a quarry for recreational anglers and the state applies bag limits. It is also taken for the aquarium trade and is prized in the United States. [4]

Taxonomy and etymology

Bodianus frenchii was formally described in 1879 as Cossyphus frenchii by Carl Benjamin Klunzinger with the type locality given as King George Sound, Western Australia. [5] The specific name honours Herr French, who was an assistant to Dr V. Muller, who was the collector of many types of Australian fishes described by Klunzinger. [4] The vernacular name, "foxfish", is thought to be taken from the misapplied binomial Bodianus vulpinus , as to most eyes this fish bears no resemblance to a fox. [4]

There is a gap in the distribution of the foxfish off the coast of Victoria and the eastern and western populations show morphological differences and may be separated into different species. [4]

Related Research Articles

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Bodianus or the hogfishes is a genus of fish in the family Labridae found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean. These species have many parasites.

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Spanish hogfish Species of fish

The Spanish hogfish, Bodianus rufus, is a species of wrasse native to the western Atlantic Ocean, where it can be found from North Carolina and Bermuda through the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico to southern Brazil. It inhabits coral or rock reefs at depths of 1 to 70 m. While the adults feed on such prey as molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms, the juveniles act as cleaner fishes. This species can reach a length of 40 cm (16 in), though most do not exceed 28 cm (11 in). This species is of minor importance to local commercial fisheries and can be found in the aquarium trade. When Marcus Elieser Bloch named the genus Bodianus he used Bodianus bodianus as the type species of the genus, this is a junior synonym of Bodianus rufus.

Barred hogfish Species of fish

The barred hogfish is a species of wrasse native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean, where it occurs around the Macaronesian island groups of the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands and Cape Verde. This species occurs on rocky reefs at depths of 20 to 200 m. It can reach a length of 43 cm (17 in), though most do not exceed 30 cm (12 in). It is of minor importance to local commercial fisheries. This species was formally described as Labrus scrofa in 1839 by Achille Valenciennes with the type locality given as the Cape Verde Islands.

<i>Bodianus mesothorax</i> Species of fish

Bodianus mesothorax, the split-level hogfish, blackbelt hogfish, black-belt hogfish, coral hogfish, eclipse hogfish, eclipse pigfish, mesothorax hogfish or yellow-spotted hogfish, is a species of wrasse native to the western Pacific Ocean and the eastern Indian Ocean.

<i>Bodianus axillaris</i> Species of wrasse

Bodianus axillaris, the axilspot hogfish, coral pigfish or turncoat hogfish, is a species of wrasse native to the Indo-Pacific.

Short-tassel weedfish Species of fish

The short-tassel weedfish is a species of clinid native to the Pacific Ocean waters around New Zealand and Australia. This species are known to feed on fishes and benthic crustaceans. It is the only species in its genus. Klunzinger's name, Clinus marmoratus, is a homonym and was preoccupied by Castelnau's Clinus marmoratus, rendering it invalid for this fish and this name is now considered to be a junior synonym of Cologrammus flavescens.

Atherinosoma is a genus of silversides from the coastal waters of south-eastern Australia.

Stripey Species of fish

The stripey, also known as the footballer or convict fish, is a species of ray-finned fish, a sea chub from the subfamily Microcanthinae which is part of the family Kyphosidae. It is native to the Pacific Ocean where it has a wide range. This species may be found in the aquarium trade. It is the only known member of its genus.

Crescent-tail hogfish Species of fish

The crescent-tail hogfish, also known as the candy cane hogfish or Pacific redstriped hogfish, is a species of wrasse native to the Pacific Ocean from Sulawesi to the Line Islands. It can be found in groups at depths from 20 to 75 m. This species can reach 8.7 cm (3.4 in) in standard length. Juveniles are white and black. Adults are white with four broad red stripes, suffused with black on caudal peduncle and caudal fin. It can be found in the aquarium trade.

<i>Bodianus neilli</i> Species of wrasse in the family Labridae

Bodianus neilli, the Bay of Bengal hogfish, is a species of wrasse in the family Labridae. It is found in the Indian Ocean in reefs off the coasts of the Maldives, Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar and Thailand, although records from the Maldives are doubtful. Bodianus neilli was described as Cossyphus neilli in 1867 by Francis Day with the type locality given as Madras. The specific name honours Day's friend, A.G Brisbane Neill.

<i>Bodianus busellatus</i> Species of fish

Bodianus busellatus is a species of wrasse native to tropical and warm temperate waters of the south central Pacific, particularly the Marquesas Islands. This species was described by Martin F. Gomon of the Australian Museum in 2006 with the type locality given as northeast of Matakumu Point on Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas Islands. This species is found only in the Marquesas and Pitcairn Islands.

<i>Bodianus dictynna</i> Species of fish

Bodianus dictynna, is a species of wrasse native to tropical and warm temperate waters of the Western Pacific, from the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago east to Tonga, as far north as Japan and as far south as Australia. It is most frequently recorded in association with living coral reefs and the juvenile fish usually occur near black coral and gorgonians, although they sometimes are found in caves near the ceiling. It feeds mainly on benthic invertebrates such as molluscs and crustaceans. The juveniles regularly behave as cleaner fish, removing parasites from other fish. The specific name dictynna is an alternative name for Diana, the Roman goddess of hunting, and refers to the close relationship between this species and Bodianus diana of the Indian Ocean, and a proposed common name of Pacific Diana's pigfish also reflects this relationship.

Bodianus rubrisos, the red-sashed hogfish or morsecode pigfish, is a species of wrasse native to tropical and warm temperate waters of the Indo-West Pacific, particularly Japan, Taiwan and Indonesia. It has been recorded off Australia at Scott Reef in Western Australia and in the Arafura Sea off the Northern Territory. The specific name is a compound of the Latin rubri meaning "red" and the letters s, o and s, a reference to the dot and dash morse code like colour pattern which is distinctive for this species.

Bodianus paraleucosticticus, the five-striped hogfish, is a species of wrasse native to tropical and warm temperate waters of the Indo-West Pacific, particularly Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia and Rarotonga. It has also been recorded at Holmes Reef in the Coral Sea off Queensland. The specific name is a compound of para meaning "near" with leucostictus meaning "white-spotted" referring to the close relationship of this species with Bodianus leucostictus.

Bodianus neopercularis, is a species of wrasse from the family Labridae which is native to tropical and warm temperate waters of the Indo-West Pacific, particularly the Marshall Islands. A record of Bodianus opercularis from Palau has now been reidentified as this species.

<i>Pempheris multiradiata</i> Species of fish

Pempheris multiradiata, the bigscale bullseye, large-scaled bullseye or common bullseye, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweeper from the family Pempheridae which is found in the coastal waters of southern Australia.

Bodianus vulpinus, the western pigfish, is a species of wrasse native to tropical and warm temperate waters of the Pacific Ocean, namely Western Australia.

Atherinosoma elongata, the elongate hardyhead, is a species of silverside from the family Atherinidae. This species is found in shallow estuaries, sheltered bays, inlets, lagoons and estuaries in southwestern and southern Australia from the Bowes River in Western Australia to Nelson in southwestern Victoria with a gap which runs from Point Demspter in Western Australia and Fowlers Bay, South Australia. This species was described as Atherina elongata in 1879 by Carl Benjamin Klunzinger with a type locality of King George Sound in Western Australia.

Lemon-striped pygmy hogfish Species of fish

The lemon-striped pygmy hogfish is a species of ray-finned fish from the family Labridae, the wrasses. This species is found on reefs in the Coral Sea off the coast of Queensland and in French Polynesia.

References

  1. Russell, B.; Choat, H.; Pollard, D.; Fairclough, D. (2010). "Bodianus frenchii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2010: e.T187506A8553413. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T187506A8553413.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2019). "Bodianus frenchii" in FishBase. August 2019 version.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Foxfish, Bodianus frenchii (Klunzinger, 1880)". Australian Museum. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Gomon, M.F. & Bray, D.J. (2019). "Bodianus frenchii". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  5. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Cossyphus frenchii". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 28 December 2019.

Sources