Elegant Sand Diver, Trichonotus elegans Shimada & Yoshino 1984
Other Names: Elegant Sand-diver, Long-rayed Sand-diver, Threadfin Sand Diver
A male Elegant Sand Diver, Trichonotus elegans, at Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia. Source: Klaus Stiefel / Flickr. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial
Summary:
Elegant Sand Diver hover over sandy-rubble bottoms, diving into the sand when threatened. Males usually have a harem of females and juveniles.
Males differ from females in both colour and form. Males having very long filamentous dorsal-fin spines, taller soft dorsal-fin rays, and a pointed tail.
Video of Elegant Sand Divers at Ambon, Indonesia - wonderful footage!
Cite this page as:
Dianne J. Bray, Trichonotus elegans in Fishes of Australia, accessed 25 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2596
Elegant Sand Diver, Trichonotus elegans Shimada & Yoshino 1984
More Info
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Distribution |
Occurs at the territory of Ashmore & Cartier Islands in the Timor Sea, and at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, and at Bramble Reef in the Coral Sea. Elsewhere, widespread in the Indo-West Pacific. |
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Features |
Meristic features: Dorsal fin III, 43-45; Anal fin I, 39-42; Pectoral fin 12-14; Lateral line scales 56-59; Vertebrae 53-56. Head and anterior half of body mostly naked - except for lateral line scales, 3-4 scales behind and below eye, and scales along dorsal and anal-fin bases. Males with very long filamentous dorsal-fin spines, taller dorsal-fin rays and a pointed caudal fin (fin rounded in females). |
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Species Citation |
Trichonotus elegans Shimada & Yoshino, 1984, Japan. J. Ichthyol. 31(1): 15, figs 1-4. Type locality: Yaeyama Islands, Japan. |
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Author |
Dianne J. Bray |
Elegant Sand Diver, Trichonotus elegans Shimada & Yoshino 1984
References
Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia.Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls.
Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.
Kuiter, R.H. & T. Tonozuka. 2001.Pictorial guide to Indonesian reef fishes. Part 2. Fusiliers - Dragonets, Caesionidae - Callionymidae. Zoonetics, Australia. Pp. 304-622.
Randall, J.E. 2005. Reef and shore fishes of the South Pacific. New Caledonia to Tahiti and the Pitcairn Islands. Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press 707 pp.
Shimada, K. & Yoshino, T. 1984. A new trichonotid fish from the Yaeyama Islands, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Japanese Journal of Ichthyology 31(1): 15-19 figs 1-4
