Flagtail Rockcod, Cephalopholis urodeta (Forster 1801)


Other Names: Chevron Rock-cod, Darkfin Hind, Duskyfin Hind, Duskyfin Rockcod, Flagtail Grouper, Flagtail Rock-cod, Flag-tailed Cod, Flag-tailed Grouper, Flag-tailed Rockcod, Flag-tailed Rock-cod, V-tail Grouper

A Flagtail Rockcod, Cephalopholis urodeta, on the Ribbon Reefs, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. Source: William T. White. License: All rights reserved

Summary:
A reddish-brown to pale greyish-brown rockcod becoming darker towards the rear, with distinctive whitish to pale blue oblique stripes across upper and lower lobes of the tail, often six faint bars along the side that divide ventrally, small orange-red spots on the head and nape, and a pair of dark spots on the front of the lower lip. The Flagtail Rockcod also has yellowish pectoral fins and usually a large reddish to brownish spot on the outer margin of the gill cover.

Although once considered to be widespread in the Indian Ocean, the Flagtail Rockcod is known from Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean to French Polynesia and the Pitcairn Islands. The Indian Ocean species is Cephalopholis nigripinnis, which hybridizes with C. urodeta at Christmas Island.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2017, Cephalopholis urodeta in Fishes of Australia, accessed 30 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/4659

Flagtail Rockcod, Cephalopholis urodeta (Forster 1801)

More Info


Distribution

Claremont to Rowley Shoals, Western Australia, Ashmore Reef, Timor Sea, and the northern Great Barrier Reef and reefs in the Coral Sea, to at least the Solitary Islands, New South Wales; also at Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean, and the Lord Howe Island region in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical, east-Indo-west-central Pacific - from Christmas Island to French Polynesia and the Pitcairn Islands.
Usually inhabits clear, shallow outer reef areas in depths to 60 m; occasionally also in lagoons, back-reef areas, and reef crests.

Features

Dorsal fin IX, 14-16; Anal fin III, 8-9.
Greatest body depth 2.7-3.1 in SL; HL 2.4-2.7 in SL; interorbital area convex; preopercle rounded, finely serrate with fleshy lower edge; subopercle and interopercle usually smooth; maxilla reaching well beyond eye; caudal fin rounded; pelvic fin 1.8-2.2 in HL; pectoral fin distinctly longer than pelvic fin; caudal fin rounded; body scales ctenoid; snout and maxilla with minute cycloid scales.

Feeding

Carnivore - feeds mostly on small fishes and crustaceans.

Fisheries

Targeted by recreational fishers, in subsistence fisheries in parts of its range, and by the aquarium industry. Bag and size limits apply in Queensland waters.

Species Citation

Perca urodeta Forster in Bloch & Schneider 1801, Systema Ichthyologiae: 333. Type locality: Santa Christina Island (= Tahuata), Marquesas Islands.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2017

Resources

Australian Faunal Directory

Flagtail Rockcod, Cephalopholis urodeta (Forster 1801)

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. & Steene, R.C. 1988. Fishes of Christmas Island Indian Ocean. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 197 pp. 

Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls. 

Choat, J.H., van Herwerden, L., Robbins, W.D., Hobbs, J.P. & Ayling, A.M. 2006. A report on the ecological surveys undertaken at Middleton and Elizabeth Reefs, February 2006. Report by James Cook University to the Department of the Environment and Heritage. 65 pp. 


Craig, M.T., Sadovy de Mitcheson, Y.J. & Heemstra, P.C. 2011. Groupers of the World: a Field and Market Guide. Grahamstown, South Africa : NISC Ltd 356 pp., Appendix 47 pp. 

De Vis, C.W. 1884. New Australian fishes in the Queensland Museum. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 1 9(2): 389-400 (as Serranus mars)

Donaldson T.J. 1995. Courtship and spawning behavior of the pygmy grouper, Cephalopholis spiloparaea (Serranidae: Epinephelinae), with notes on C. argus and C. urodeta. Environmental Biology of Fishes 43: 363-370. 

Donaldson, T.J. 2002. Habitat association and depth distribution of two sympatric groupers of the genus Cephalopholis (Serranidae: Epinephelinae). Ichthyological Research 49: 191-193.

Forster, J.R. in Bloch, M.E. & Schneider, J.G. 1801. Systema Ichthyologiae Iconibus ex Illustratum. Berlin. 584 pp. 110 pls 

Grant, E.M. 2002. Guide to Fishes. Redcliffe : EM Grant Pty Ltd 880 pp. 

Heemstra, P.C. & Randall, J.E. 1993. Groupers of the World (Family Serranidae, Subfamily Epinephelinae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of grouper, rockcod, hind, coral grouper and lyretail species known to date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125 Vol. 16. Rome: FAO. pp. 1-382 

Heemstra, P.C. & Randall, J.E. 1999. Family Serranidae. pp. 2442-2548 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. 

Hutchins, J.B. 2001. Biodiversity of shallow reef fish assemblages in Western Australia using a rapid censusing technique. Records of the Western Australian Museum 20: 247-270 

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.

Lau, P.P.F. & Li, L.W.H. 2000. Identification guide to fishes in the live seafood trade of the Asia-Pacific region. World Wide Fund for Nature, Hong Kong. 137 pp.

Liu, M., Yeeting, B., Russell, B., Craig, M.T., Heemstra, P.C. & Pollard, D. 2017. Cephalopholis urodeta. (amended version published in 2008) The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T132783A118696633. Downloaded on 26 April 2017.

Mihalitsis M, Bellwood DR (2017) A morphological and functional basis for maximum prey size in piscivorous fishes. PLoS ONE 12(9): e0184679. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0184679 Open access

Nakai, T. & Sano, M. 2002. Evidence of protogynous hermaphroditism in the darkfin hind Cephalopholis urodeta (Serranidae) at Iriomote Island, southern Japan. Fisheries Science 68: 697-699. 

Nakai, T., Sano, M. & Kurokura, H. 2001. Feeding habits of the darkfin hind Cephalopholis urodeta (Serranidae) at Iriomote Island, southern Japan. Fisheries Science 67: 640-643.

Newman, S.J., Williams, D. & Russ, G.R. 1997. Patterns of zonation of assemblages of the Lutjanidae, Lethrinidae and Serranidae (Epinephelinae) within and among mid-shelf and outer-shelf reefs in the central Great Barrier Reef. Marine and Freshwater Research 48: 119-128.

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. 

Randall, J.E. & Heemstra, P.C. 1991. Revision of Indo-Pacific groupers (Perciformes: Serranidae: Epinephelinae), with descriptions of five new species. Indo-Pacific Fishes 20: 1-332.

Sadovy de Mitcheson, Y.J. & Liu, M. 2008. Fish and Fisheries. 9:1-43.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37311142

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Depth:1-60 m

Fishing:Commercial, aquarium fish

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:28 cm TL

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Species Maps

CAAB distribution map