Spinyhead Cardinalfish, Pristiapogon kallopterus (Bleeker 1856)


Other Names: Iridescent Cardinalfish, Kallopterus Cardinalfish, Spiny-head Cardinal, Spiny-head Cardinalfish

A Spinyhead Cardinalfish, Pristiapogon kallopterus, at North Point, Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. Source: Anne Hoggett / Lizard Island Field Guide http://lifg.australianmuseum.net.au/Hierarchy.html. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Summary:
A pinkish to pale greyish or reddish-brown cardinalfish, usually with a broad dark mid-lateral stripe that fades on the caudal peduncle, a large dark spot just above the middle of the caudal-fin base (may fade in adults), a yellow leading edge on the first dorsal fin, and large scales with narrow brown margins. Individuals develop greenish to bluish iridescence at night. Juveniles have a yellowish head and abdomen.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2020, Pristiapogon kallopterus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3480

Spinyhead Cardinalfish, Pristiapogon kallopterus (Bleeker 1856)

More Info


Distribution

South Muiron Island to offshore reefs of north Western Australia, Ashmore & Cartier Islands in the Timor Sea, the far northern Great Barrier Reef and reefs in the Coral Sea, to the Moreton Bay region, southern Queensland, and further south to the Solitary Islands, New South Wales; also Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean, and Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical, Indo-west-central Pacific, including the Kermadec Islands, New Zealand.
Inhabits lagoon and seaward reefs at depths to 45 m.

Features

Dorsal fin VII + I,9; Anal Fin II, 8; Pectoral fin 13-14; Lateral-line scales 24; Gill rakers 4-5 = 13-15; Circumpeduncular scales usually 14. 
Body depth 2.5-3.3 in SL.

Etymology

The specific name kallopterus is from the Greek kallos (= beauty) and pterus (= wing), possibly in reference to the bright yellow leading edge on the dorsal fin (of some individuals).

Species Citation

Apogon kallopterus Bleeker 1856, Acta Societatis Scientiarum Indo-Neerlandicae 1: 33. Type locality: Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2020

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Spinyhead Cardinalfish, Pristiapogon kallopterus (Bleeker 1856)

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. 

Allen, G.R. & Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 1994. Fishes of Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 412: 1-21 

Allen, G.R., Steene, R.C. & Orchard, M. 2007. Fishes of Christmas Island. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 2 edn, 284 pp. 

Barnett, A. & Bellwood, D.R. 2005. Sexual dimorphism in the buccal cavity of paternal mouthbrooding cardinalfishes (Pisces: Apogonidae). Marine Biology 148: 205-212

Bleeker, P. 1856. Beschrijvengen van nieuwe of weinig bekende vischsoorten van Menado en Makassar grootendeels verzameld op eene reis naar den Molukschen Archipel in het gevolg van den Gouverneur-Generaal Duymaer van Twist. Acta Societatis Scientiarum Indo-Neerlandicae 1: 1-80 

Francis, M. 1993. Checklist of the coastal fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk, and Kermadec Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean. Pacific Science 47(2): 136-170 figs 1-2

Francis, M.P. & Randall, J.E. 1993. Further additions to the fish faunas of Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands, southwest Pacific oceans. Pacific Science 47(2): 118-135. http://hdl.handle.net/10125/1754

Fraser, T.H. & Lachner, E.A. 1985. A revision of the cardinalfish subgenera Pristiapogon and Zoramia (genus Apogon) of the Indo-Pacific region (Teleostei: Apogonidae). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 412: 1-47 https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00810282.412

Hutchins, J.B. 1994. A survey of the nearshore reef fish fauna of Western Australia's west and south coasts — The Leeuwin Province. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 46: 1-66 figs 1-6 

Johnson, J.W. 2010. Fishes of the Moreton Bay Marine Park and adjacent continental shelf waters, Queensland, Australia. pp. 299-353 in Davie, P.J.F. & Phillips, J.A. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Marine Biological Workshop, The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton Bay. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 54(3) 

Kuiter, R.H. 1992. Tropical Reef-Fishes of the Western Pacific, Indonesia and Adjacent Waters. Jakarta : PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama 314 pp. pls. 

Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. A comprehensive reference for divers and fishermen. Sydney, NSW, Australia : New Holland Publishers xvii, 434 pp. 

Kuiter, R.H. & Kozawa, T. 2019. Cardinalfishes of the world. New ed. Seaford, Victoria : Aquatic Photographics, and Okazaki, Aichi, Japan : Anthias, Nexus: 1-198.
Larson, H.K., Williams, R.S. & Hammer, M.P. 2013. An annotated checklist of the fishes of the Northern Territory, Australia. Zootaxa 3696(1): 1-293 

Mabuchi, K., Fraser, T.H., Song, H., Azuma, Y. & Nishida, M. 2014. Revision of the systematics of the cardinalfishes (Percomorpha: Apogonidae) based on molecular analyses and comparative reevaluation of morphological characters. Zootaxa 3846(2): 151–203 

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. 

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs. 

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs.

Trnski, T. 2015. 171 Family Apogonidae. pp. 1216-1218 in Roberts, C.D., Stewart, A.L. & Struthers, C.D. (eds). The Fishes of New Zealand. Wellington : Te Papa Press Vol. 4 pp. 1153-1748.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37327063

Biology:Mouth brooder (males)

Depth:3-45 m

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:15.5 cm TL

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Species Maps

CAAB distribution map