Spinycheek Seabass, Ostracoberyx paxtoni Quéro & Ozouf-Costaz 1991


Spinycheek Seabass, Ostracoberyx paxtoni. Source: Ken Graham / NSW Fisheries. License: All rights reserved

Summary:
Unusual deep-sea fishes with rough exposed bones encasing the head, a very strong sharp spine at the lower angle of the gill cover, robust fin spines, small rough embedded scales, and two dorsal fins. Juveniles have a recurved (curved forward) spine on top of the rear of the head.

Cite this page as:
Dianne J. Bray, Ostracoberyx paxtoni in Fishes of Australia, accessed 28 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/1692

Spinycheek Seabass, Ostracoberyx paxtoni Quéro & Ozouf-Costaz 1991

More Info


Distribution

Recorded from off Coolangatta, Queensland, to SSE of Gabo Island, Victoria; also off Balls Pyramid in the Lord Howe Island region. The Spinycheek Seabass is benthopelagic on the continental slope in 220-512 metres.

Features

Dorsal fin IX, 9-10; Anal fin III, 7: Pectoral fin 14-16; Gill rakers (lower limb first arch) 9-12 developed rakers; Lateral line scales 48-58; 11-12 (rarely 10) scales in an oblique row, between the origin of the dorsal fin and the lateral line; 23-30 scales in an oblique row, between the lateral line and origin of the anal fin. 
Body depth 43-51% SL. Juveniles (80-100 mm SL) have a recurved (bent forward) supraoccipital spine and an interorbital space 21-27% HL.

Size

To about 16 cm SL.

Colour

Silvery grey to silvery greyish-brown with a paler abdomen. In preservative: greyish-brown, paler below, with somewhat bluish gill and branchiostegal membranes.

Feeding


Biology


Fisheries


Conservation


Remarks


Similar Species


Etymology

The species is named for John R. Paxton of the Australian Museum.

Species Citation

Ostracoberyx paxtoni Quéro & Ozouf-Costaz 1991, Cybium 15(1): 44, fig. 1. Type locality: off southern Queensland (28°06´S, 153°58´E), depth 410 m. 

Author

Dianne J. Bray

Resources

Australian Faunal Directory

Spinycheek Seabass, Ostracoberyx paxtoni Quéro & Ozouf-Costaz 1991

References


Carpenter, K.E. 1999. Family Ostracoberycidae. pp. 2551-2552 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds) The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 4 pp. 2069-2790.

Paxton, J.R., Hoese, D.F., Allen, G.R. & Hanley, J.E. (eds) 1989. Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Pisces: Petromyzontidae to Carangidae. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service Vol. 7 665 pp.

Quéro, J.-C. & Ozouf-Costaz, C. 1991. Ostracoberyx paxtoni, nouvelle espèce des côtes est de l'Australie, remarques sur les modifications morphologiques des Ostracoberyx au cours de leur croissance (Perciformes, Ostracoberycidae). Cybium 15(1): 43-54. PDF Open Access

Suntsov, A.V. 2007. A tentative Tholichthys stage in development of Ostracoberyx and its bearing on systematics of Ostracoberycidae. Journal of Ichthyology 47(7): 504-510. Abstract

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37311161

Depth:220-512 m

Habitat:Benthopelagic, continental slope

Max Size:16 cm SL

Native:Endemic

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CAAB distribution map