Australian bandfish

The Australian bandfish (Cepola australis) is a species of bandfish in the family Cepolidae. It has been reported from the Indo-Pacific coastal regions of Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia, although some of these records may represent confusion with other species.

Australian bandfish
Holotype
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Cepolidae
Genus: Cepola
Species:
C. australis
Binomial name
Cepola australis

Taxonomy

The Australian bandfish was first formally described in 1899 by the Irish born Australian ichthyologist James Douglas Ogilby with the type locality given as Port Jackson, New South Wales.[1] The specific name australis means "southern", as it the time Ogilby described it this was thought to be the southernmost species in the genus Cepola, as C. haastii of New Zealand was then placed in the monotypic Hypolycodes.[2] The taxon currently regarded as Cepola australis may represent more than one species.[3]

Description

The Australian bandfish is an elongated fish with the rearmost soft rays of both the elongated dorsal and anal fins connected to its lanceolate caudal fin by a membrane to form a continuous fin. It has a relatively large eye and a blunt snout with an oblique mouth. The dorsal fin has 3 spines and 54-57 soft rays while the anal fin contains a single spine and 50-53 soft rays.[4][3] there is a row of small teeth in each jaw with a second row of curved teeth in the anterior part of the upper and lower jaws.[3] This species attains a maximum total length of 25 cm (9.8 in). They are reddish in colour, the colour varying between pink and red dependant on the depth the fish is at.[5]

Distribution and habitat

The Australian bandfish is endemic to Australia. It is found from northern Queensland, south on the eastern coast and east along the southern coast as far as eastern South Australia. They live in burrows in areas of sand and mud from the shallows down to a depth of 70 m (230 ft).[3]

Biology

Australian bandfish live in burrows and emerge from these burrows to feed on zooplankton like other bandfishes.[6]

References
  1. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Ceplas". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  2. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (3 September 2020). "Order Priacanthiformes: Families Priacanthidae and Cepolidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  3. Mark McGrouther (21 December 2020). "Bandfish, Cepola australis Ogilby, 1899". Australian Museum. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  4. W.F. Smith-Vaniz (2001). "CEPOLIDAE". In Carpenter, K.E. and Niem, V.H. (eds.). FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 5. Bony fishes part 3 (Menidae to Pomacentridae) (PDF). FAO Rome. p. 3331.
  5. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2021). "Cepola australis" in FishBase. June 2021 version.
  6. Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2021). "Cepolidae" in FishBase. June 2021 version.
  • Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2014). "Cepola australis" in FishBase. July 2014 version.
  • Kuiter, R. H. (1993). Coastal fishes of south-eastern Australia. Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press.
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