Blacksaddle Goatfish, Parupeneus spilurus (Bleeker 1854)


Other Names: Black-saddled Goatfish, Blackspot Goatfish, Black-spot Goatfish, Black-spot Goat-fish, Black-spotted Goatfish, Goat Fish, Red Goatfish

A Blacksaddle Goatfish, Parupeneus spilurus, at Bass Point, Shellharbour, New South Wales, January 2017. Source: John Turnbull / Flickr. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Summary:
A brownish to reddish or yellowish goatfish becoming pinkish-grey below, with a black saddle on the tail base preceded by a yellowish to whitish patch, and three white stripes from the snout along the body. Juveniles have a similar colour pattern with a yellowish tinge.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2021, Parupeneus spilurus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/594

Blacksaddle Goatfish, Parupeneus spilurus (Bleeker 1854)

More Info


Distribution

Geographe Bay to Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia, and the Swains Reefs, Queensland, to Mallacoota, Victoria; also the Lord Howe Island region and Norfolk Island in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical Western Pacific. 
Inhabits sandy areas in estuaries, and coastal and offshore reefs. Juveniles usually occur in small schools, while adults are solitary or form small aggregations.

Species Citation

Upeneus spilurus Bleeker1854, Natuurk. Tijdschr. Nederl. Indië 6: 395. Type locality: Nagasaki, Japan.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2021

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Blacksaddle Goatfish, Parupeneus spilurus (Bleeker 1854)

References


Allan, R. 2002. Australian Fish and How to Catch Them. Sydney : New Holland Publishers (Australia) 394 pp. (p. 159, as Parupeneus signatus)

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., Hoese, D.F., Paxton, J.R., Randall, J.E., Russell, B.C., Starck, W.A., Talbot, F.H. & Whitley, G.P. 1976. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Lord Howe Island. Records of the Australian Museum 30(15): 365-454 (p. 404, as Parupeneus signatus)

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. ( p. 90, Parupeneus signatus)

Bleeker, P. 1854. Faunae ichthyologicae japonicae species novae. Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië 6: 395-426. See ref at BHL

Bleeker, P. 1878. Quatrième mémoire sur la faune ichthyologique de la Nouvelle-Guinée. Archives Néerlandaises des Sciences Naturelles 13: 35-66 pls 2-3

Coleman, N. 1980. Australian Sea Fishes South of 30ºS. Lane Cove, NSW : Doubleday Australia Pty Ltd 309 pp. (p. 168, Parupeneus fraterculus)

Coleman, N. 1981. Australian Sea Fishes North of 30°S. Lane Cove, NSW : Doubleday Australia Pty Ltd 297 pp. 

Coleman, N. 2002. Lord Howe Island Marine Park. Springwood, Queensland : Neville Coleman's Underwater Geographic Pty. Ltd. 96 pp.

Edgar, G.J. 2008. Australian Marine Life: the plants and animals of temperate waters. Sydney : Reed New Holland 2nd edn, 624 pp.

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

Grant, E.M. 1991. Fishes of Australia. Brisbane : EM Grant Pty Ltd 480 pp. (p. 225, as Parupeneus rubescens)

Günther, A. 1867. Additions to the knowledge of Australian reptiles and fishes. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 3 20(8): 45-68 (p. 59, as Upeneus signatus)

Gill, A.C. & Reader, S.E. 1992. Fishes. pp. 90-93, 193-228 in Hutchings, P. (ed.) Reef Biology. A Survey of Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs, South Pacific. Canberra : Australian National Parks Vol. 3, Kowari 230 pp.

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

Günther, A. 1867. Additions to the knowledge of Australian reptiles and fishes. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 3 20(8): 45-68 (described as Upeneus signatusSee ref at BHL

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 : Aqua Research and Monitoring Services.

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.

Hutchins, J.B. 1997. Checklist of fishes of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia. pp. 239-253 in Wells, F. (ed.) The Marine Fauna and Flora of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum.

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.

Hutchins, J.B. 2003. Checklist of marine fishes of the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia. pp. 453-478 in Wells, F.E., Walker, D.I., & Jones, D.S. (eds). Proceedings of the Eleventh International Marine Biological Workshop: The Marine Flora and Fauna of Dampier, Western Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum.

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

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. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 437 pp. (P. 204, as Parupeneus signatus and Parupenus spilurus)

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. (P. 204, as Parupeneus signatus and Parupenus spilurus)

Kuiter, R.H. & Tonozuka, T. 2001. Pictorial guide to Indonesian reef fishes. Part 2. Fusiliers - Dragonets, Caesionidae - Callionymidae. Zoonetics, Australia, pp 304-622.
Ogilby, J.D. 1908. On new genera and species of fishes. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 21: 1-26 (p. 19, as Pseudupeneus jeffi)

Ogilby, J.D. 1889. The reptiles and fishes of Lord Howe Island. Memoirs of the Australian Museum 2(3): 51-74 pls 2-3

Ogilby, J.D. 1908. On new genera and species of fishes. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 21: 1-26 (described as Pseudupeneus jeffi) See ref at BHL

Randall, J.E. 2001. Mullidae. pp. 3175-3200 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 5 2791-3379 pp.

Randall, J.E. 2004. Revision of the goatfish genus Parupeneus (Perciformes: Mullidae), with descriptions of two new species. Indo-Pacific Fishes 36: 1-64 pls 1-16.

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.

Sainsbury, K.J., Kailola, P.J. & Leyland, G.G. 1985. Continental Shelf Fishes of Northern and North-Western Australia. Canberra : Fisheries Information Service 375 pp. figs & pls. (p. 234, as Parupeneus pleurotaenia)

Smith-Vaniz, W.F. & Williams, I. 2016. Parupeneus spilurus (errata version published in 2017). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T69183023A115462187. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T69183023A69183797.en. Downloaded on 05 June 2020.

Stewart, A.L. 2015. 185 Family Mullidae. pp. 1289-1294 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.

Whitley, G.P. 1931. New names for Australian fishes. The Australian Zoologist 6(4): 310-334 1 fig. pls 25-27 (p. 317, as Caprupeneus jeffi)

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37355015

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Depth:1-80 m

Habitat:Reef associated, sand/seagrass areas

Max weight:55 cm TL

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CAAB distribution map