Australian Burrfish, Allomycterus pilatus Whitley 1931

Other Names: Deepwater Burrfish, Deepwater Porcupine Fish, Porcupinefish, Small-spined Porcupinefish

An Australian Burrfish, Allomycterus pilatus, in the Bay of Islands, Northland, New Zealand, September 2020. Source: lcolmer / iNaturalist.org. License: CC By Attribution-NonCommercial

Summary:

A robust pale olive-grey porcupinefish with a white belly, an olive and yellow blotch behind the eye and one below the dorsal-fin origin, and a blackish blotch behind the pectoral fin surrounded by spines with yellow bases. The body spines are short, robust and immovable.

Two forms are recognised: a shallow-water form with dark spots scattered on the back, and a deep-water form with yellow blotches on the sides.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2021, Allomycterus pilatus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 18 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/473

Australian Burrfish, Allomycterus pilatus Whitley 1931

More Info

Distribution	Widespread in temperate waters of the southern half of Australia, from off Bustard Head Lighthouse, Queensland, to Rottnest Island, Western Australia, including around Tasmania. Elsewhere, the species occurs on seamounts off south-eastern Australia, on the Lord Howe Rise and the Norfolk Ridge in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species occurs in New Zealand. Although Australian Burrfish usually occur in deeper waters over the continental shelf, individuals occasionally enter coastal estuaries. They usually inhabit rocky reefs and weedy areas, mostly near the bottom in moderately shallow to deeper waters, but sometimes schooling in surface waters, in depths of 5-320 m.
Features	Dorsal fin 16-18; Anal fin 15-16; Caudal fin 9; Pectoral fin 19-21. Body deep (38-55% SL deflated), moderately short, circular in cross section, capable of being inflated into sphere; caudal peduncle very shallow, rather short. Head large (38-40% SL), snout short; eyes large (22-29% HL); mouth broad (length to corner 17-20% HL); teeth fused into beak like jaws, no seam separating right and left halves; gill opening on each side confined to short vertical slit immediately before pectoral fin base. Scales and lateral line absent; body mostly covered with prominent, but short fixed spines, each with three, tripod like roots; most spines shorter than eye diameter; elongate erectile spine behind each pectoral fin, and several slightly longer fixed spines somewhat posteriorly on back and sides; no spines wholly on caudal peduncle; area above and immediately in front of gill openings with small fixed spines. Single lobe-like opposing dorsal and anal fins, each with short base, overhanging caudal peduncle; caudal fin rounded. Pectoral fins large, shallow notch in hind margin. Pelvic fins absent. Body robust, oval, covered in short, fixed, blade-like spines, each with a tripod-like base; an elongate erectile spine behind pectoral fin; no spines wholly on tail base; most spines shorter than eye diameter; dorsal fin with truncate hind margin, anal fin rounded, pectoral fin with shallow notch in hind margin.
Size	To 50 cm TL.
Colour	Olive-grey above, white below; olive and yellow blotch between each eye and gill opening; blackish blotch on side behind each pectoral fin, spines encircling blotch with yellow bases; olive and yellow blotch on middle of side below dorsal fin origin. Deeper-water individuals may have yellow markings.
Feeding	Usually feeds on bottom-living hard-shelled invertebrates.
Biology	Females spawn pelagic eggs and the larvae pass through a pelagic juvenile phase.
Fisheries	Although of no interest to fisheries, the species is occasionally taken in commercial trawls.
Conservation	IUCN Red List : Data Deficient
Etymology	The specific name is from the Latin pilatus (= armed with javelins), in reference to the spines on the body of this species.
Species Citation	Allomycterus pilatus Whitley 1931, Rec. Aust. Mus. 18(3): 125. Type locality: Botany Bay, New South Wales (based on specimens of Allomycterus jaculiferus in McCulloch 1921:141).
Author	Bray, D.J. 2021
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Australian Burrfish, Allomycterus pilatus Whitley 1931

References

Gomon, M.F. 1994. Family Diodontidae. pp. 913-915, figs 805-806 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.

Gomon, M.F. 2008. Family Diodontidae. pp. 857-858 in Gomon. M.F., Bray, D.J. & Kuiter, R.H (eds). Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Sydney : Reed New Holland 928 pp.

Hoschke, A., Whisson, G. & Moore, G.I. 2019. Complete list of fishes from Rottnest Island. pp. 150-161 in Whisson, G. & Hoschke, A. (eds) The Rottnest Island fish book. 2nd ed. Perth, Western Australia : Aqua Research and Monitoring Services.

Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.

Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 437 pp.

Last, P.R., Scott, E.O.G. & Talbot, F.H. 1983. Fishes of Tasmania. Hobart : Tasmanian Fisheries Development Authority 563 pp. figs.

Leis, J.M. 2006. Nomenclature and distribution of the species of the porcupinefish family Diodontidae (Pisces, Teleostei). Memoirs of Museum Victoria 63(1): 77–90

Leis, J.M. 2015. 249 Family Diodontidae. pp. 1741-1744 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.

Matsuura, K., Collette, B., Nelson, J., Dooley, J., Fritzsche, R. & Carpenter, K. 2010. Allomycterus pilatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010: e.T155007A4693011. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T155007A4693011.en. Downloaded on 13 June 2018.

May, J.L. & Maxwell, J.G.H. 1986. Field Guide to Trawl Fish from Temperate Waters of Australia. Hobart : CSIRO Division of Marine Research 492 pp.

McCulloch, A.R. 1921. Studies in Australian fishes. No. 7. Records of the Australian Museum 13(4): 123-142, Pls. 21-24. (as Allomycterus jaculiferus) See ref at BHL

Phillipps, W.J. 1932. Notes on new fishes from New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Science and Technology 13(4): 226-234 figs 1-5 (described as Allomycterus whitleyi)

Thomson, J.M. 1978. A Field Guide to the Common Sea & Estuary Fishes of Non-tropical Australia. Sydney : Collins 144 pp.

Whitley, G.P. 1931. Studies in Ichthyology No. 4. Records of the Australian Museum 18(3): 96-133 figs 1-2 pls 11-16 https://doi.org/10.3853/j.0067-1975.18.1931.720