Smooth Cardinalfish, Vincentia macrocauda Allen 1987

A Smooth Cardinalfish, Vincentia macrocauda, from southern Australia. Source: Gey11 / Wikimedia Commons. License: CC By Attribution-ShareAlike

Summary:

A slender mottled reddish to pink cardinalfish with the outer half of the first dorsal fin black, reddish to dusky reddish-brown second dorsal, caudal, anal and pelvic fins covered in pale spots, and a very long tail base. The body is mostly covered in cycloid (smooth) scales.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2021, Vincentia macrocauda in Fishes of Australia, accessed 25 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3689

Smooth Cardinalfish, Vincentia macrocauda Allen 1987

More Info

Distribution	Endemic to southern Australia, from the Gulf St Vincent, South Australia, to east of Albany, Western Australia, at depths to 25 m.
Features	Dorsal fin VII + I, 9; Anal fin II, 8- 9; Caudal fin 17; Pectoral fin 14-15; Pelvic fin I, 5; Gill rakers (first arch) 3-5 + 12-13 (total rakers 15-18); Lateral line scales 25 plus 2 additional scales at caudal fin base. Body slender (28–32% SL), caudal peduncle elongate (about 33% SL); head length 34–36% SL; eye diameter 34–38% HL; scales cycloid to weakly ctenoid, those in and adjacent to lateral line of similar size; 8–9 scales below lateral line; 2nd dorsal fin slightly larger than 1st, completely separate.
Size	To 10 cm SL
Colour	Overall reddish with a bronze hue; fins reddish to dusky red, with clear to faint yellowish spots except on pectoral fins; first dorsal fin dusky brown near base, outer half blackish.
Feeding	Feeds on zooplankton and benthic invertebrates.
Biology	The sexes are separate, and fertilisation is external. Like all cardinalfishes, the male broods the developing eggs in his mouth, and doesn't feed until they hatch.
Fisheries	Of no interest to fisheries.
Conservation	IUCN : not evaluated
Remarks	A secretive nocturnal species.
Similar Species	Differs from all other species of Vincentia in having a very long caudal peduncle and mostly cycloid (smooth) scales on the body.
Etymology	The specific name macrocauda is from the Greek macros (= long) and the Latin cauda (= tail) in reference to the elongate caudal peduncle of this species.
Species Citation	Vincentia macrocauda Allen 1987, Mem. Mus. Vic. 48(1): 7, fig. 4. Type locality: Cheyne Beach, Western Australia, 34°53'S, 118°25'E.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2021
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Smooth Cardinalfish, Vincentia macrocauda Allen 1987

References

Allen, G.R. 1987. New Australian Fishes. Part 2. Four new species of Apogonidae. Memoirs of Museum Victoria 48(1): 3-8 https://doi.org/10.24199/j.mmv.1987.48.02 & see ref at BHL

Allen, G.R. & Gomon, M.F. 2008. Family Apogonidae. pp. 557-561 in Gomon. M.F., Bray, D.J. & Kuiter, R.H (eds). Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Sydney : Reed New Holland 928 pp.

Gomon, M.F. 1994. Family Apogonidae. pp. 562-571 figs 499-506 in Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & Kuiter, R.H (eds). The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. Adelaide : State Printer 992 pp. 810 figs

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

Kuiter, R.H. & Kozawa, T. 2019. Cardinalfishes of the world. New edition. Seaford, Victoria: Aquatic Photographics and Okazaki, Aichi, Japan: Anthias, Nexus, 198 pp.

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