Paraplesiops bleekeri

This species grows to 40 cm, and is recognizable by blue and white bands on the body, blue spots on the head, and blue dorsal and anal fins.[4] It also has a yellow base, pectoral, and caudal fins. The pelvic, posterior dorsal, and anal fins are all elongated.[5][6]

This species is a close relative of the southern blue devil (Paraplesiops meleagris), which lives in the colder southern Australian waters.[1]

The fish is found in coastal waters of eastern Australia between the Gold Coast of southern Queensland and Montague Island,[1] most commonly between Sydney and Ulladulla.[5]

This species is shy and secretive. Males have appeared to defend territories in caves or overhangs, where it remains to attract females and drive males away.[5] They are most active at night.

Paraplesiops bleekeri are benthic coastal reef inhabitants.[4] They live inside caves, under ledges and overhangs in reefs and estuaries.[4][7] They were considered to inhabit waters ranging from 3 to 30 metres in depth,[1][5] and are most often encountered in shallow waters less than 20 metres, however, recent observations suggest they also inhabit offshore reefs down to at least 50 metres.[4]

This fish is known to eat brittle stars.

This species is protected under the laws of New South Wales Fisheries, in particular, the Fisheries Management Act 1994.[4] It is illegal to collect or possess them without a permit.[1][5]

They are protected because of their low abundance, and their desirability in the marine aquarium industry.[4]

Efforts to protect them have included the conservation and protection of benthic estuarine habitats, as well as rocky offshore reef areas where they breed. Some protected habitats are:

• Solitary Islands Marine Park
• Port Stephens – Great Lakes Marine Park
• Jervis Bay Marine Park
• Long Reef Aquatic Reserve
• Bushrangers Bay Aquatic Reserve[6]

The specific name honours the Dutch ichthyologist and physician Pieter Bleeker (1819-1878) who named two congeners of this species.[8]

• Eschmeyer, William N., ed. 1998. Catalog of Fishes. Special Publication of the Center for Biodiversity Research and Information, no. 1, vol. 1–3. California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco, California. 2905. ISBN 0-940228-47-5.
• Fetterplace, LC.; Turnbull, JW.; Knott, NA.; Hardy, NA. (2018). "The Devil in the Deep: Expanding the Known Habitat of a Rare and Protected Fish". European Journal of Ecology. 4 (1): 22–29. doi:10.2478/eje-2018-0003
• Fenner, Robert M.: The Conscientious Marine Aquarist. Neptune City, New Jersey: T.F.H. Publications, 2001.
• Helfman, G., B. Collette y D. Facey: The diversity of fishes. Blackwell Science, Malden, Massachusetts, 1997.
• Hoese, D.F. 1986: . A M.M. Smith y P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
• Hoese, D. F. and R. H. Kuiter 1984. "A revision of the Australian plesiopid fish genus Paraplesiops, with notes on other Australian genera"; Records of the Australian Museum v. 36: 7–18.
• Maugé, L.A. 1986. A J. Daget, J.-P. Gosse and D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde (eds.) Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA). ISNB Brussels; MRAC, Tervuren; and ORSTOM, Paris. Vol. 2.
• Moyle, P. y J. Cech.: Fishes: An Introduction to Ichthyology, 4th edition, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 2000.
• Nelson, J.: Fishes of the World, 3rd edition. New York City: John Wiley and Sons, 1994.
• Paxton, J.R., D.F. Hoese, G.R. Allen and J.E. Hanley 1989: "Pisces. Petromyzontidae to Carangidae", Zoological Catalogue of Australia, Vol. 7. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 665 pp.
• Wheeler, A.: The World Encyclopedia of Fishes, 2nd edition, London: Macdonald, 1985.

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