Gracile Saury, Saurida gracilis Quoy & Gaimard 1824


Other Names: Gracile Lizardfish, Slender Grinner, Slender Lizardfish, Slender Saury

A Gracile Saury, Saurida gracilis, at Guam. Source: David Burdick / http://guamreeflife.com. License: All rights reserved

Summary:

A mottled greyish lizardfish with three dark bars across the rear half of the body, the largest just behind the dorsal fin. The outer teeth are visible when the mouth is closed. 

The dark bars on rear half of body are usually broader than those of the Clouded Saury, Saurida nebulosa.


Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2018, Saurida gracilis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/4008

Gracile Saury, Saurida gracilis Quoy & Gaimard 1824

More Info


Distribution

Off Exmouth to Rowley Shoals and Scott Reef, Western Australia, Ashmore Reef, Timor Sea, and the Great Barrier Reef and reefs in the Coral Sea, to northern New South Wales; also Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean, and Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species is widespread in the tropical Indo-west-central Pacific, from the Red Sea and East Africa to Hawaii and the Marquesas Islands, north to southern Japan and south to Queensland, Australia. 

Individuals inhabit silty, muddy and sandy bottoms near protected corals reefs in depths of 1-12 m.

Size

To 32 cm.

Feeding

A voracious carnivore that preys mostly on small fishes, and also on crustaceans.

Biology

The sexes are separate and fertilisation is external. Little is known of the biology of the Gracile Saury.

Fisheries

Of no interest to fisheries or aquaculture, although individuals may be taken as bycatch in commercial trawls.

Conservation


Similar Species

In Australia, the Gracile Saury has long been confused with the Clouded Saury, Saurida nebulosa. The dark bars along the back in S. gracilis are broader than those of the Clouded Saury, Saurida nebulosa, and the distance between the tip of the folded back pectoral fin and the origin of the dorsal fin is slightly greater in the Clouded Saury.

Species Citation

Saurus gracilis Quoy & Gaimard 1824, Voyage autour du Monde... Vol. 1: 224. Type locality: Hawaiian Islands (as Sandwich Islands); Mauritius.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2018

Resources

Australian Faunal Directory

Gracile Saury, Saurida gracilis Quoy & Gaimard 1824

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., R.C. Steene & M. Orchard. 2007. Fishes of Christmas Island. 2nd Ed. Christmas Island Natural History Association. 284 p. 

Coleman, N. 1980. Australian Sea Fishes South of 30ºS. Lane Cove, NSW : Doubleday Australia Pty Ltd 309 pp. 

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

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

Hobbs, J-P.A., Newman, S.J., Mitsopoulos, G.E.A., Travers, M.J., Skepper, C.L., Gilligan, J.J., Allen, G.R., Choat, H.J. & Ayling, A.M. 2014. Checklist and new records of Christmas Island fishes: the influence of isolation, biogeography and habitat availability on species abundance and community composition. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 30: 184–202 

Hutchins, B. 2004. Fishes of the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 66: 343–398 

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. 1999. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 43(2): 709-762.

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. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. Sydney : New Holland 433 pp.

Quoy, J.R.C. & Gaimard, J.P. 1824. Chapter 8. Poissons. 183-328 pls 43-65 in Freycinet, L.C.D. de (ed.) Voyage autour du Monde, entrepris par ordre du Roi, exécuté sur les corvettes de S.M. Uranie et la Physicienne, pendant les années 1817, 1818, 1819 et 1820. Paris : Pillet Aîné Vol. 1 712 pp. 96 pls.

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.

Russell, B.C. 1999. Families Synodontidae, Bathysauridae. pp. 1928-1947 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. 3 1397-2068 pp.

Russell, B. & Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 2016. Saurida gracilis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T67852269A67871630. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T67852269A67871630.en. Downloaded on 11 December 2018.

Waples, R.S. 1982. A biochemical and morphological review of the lizardfish genus Saurida in Hawaii, with description of a new species. Pacific Science 35(3): 217-235 figs 1-5

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37118013

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Depth:1-12 m

Habitat:Reef associated, sandy & silty areas

Max Size:32 cm TL

Species Maps

CAAB distribution map