Silver Drummer, Kyphosus sydneyanus (Günther 1886)


Other Names: Buff Bream, Buffalo Bream, Buffs, Common Buffalo Bream, Drummer Bream, Southern Silver Drummer, Sydney Drummer

A Silver Drummer, Kyphosus sydneyanus, at Fairy Bower, Manly, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales. Source: Richard Ling / Flickr. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives

Summary:

A large olive, silvery-grey or bronzy drummer, darker above, paler below, with a broad dark margin on the caudal fin, a rusty-coloured bar from the upper jaw across the gill cover, a pale bar under the eye and a small black spot at the lower edge of the pectoral-fin base.


Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2021, Kyphosus sydneyanus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/523

Silver Drummer, Kyphosus sydneyanus (Günther 1886)

More Info


Distribution

Widespread in the southern half of Australia from about Fraser Island, Queensland, to the Houtman Abrolhos, Western Australia, including around Tasmania. Elsewhere the species occurs in northern New Zealand.
The species may also occur at Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. 
Inhabits exposed coastal rocky reefs, often in large schools in the surge zone. 

Feeding

Herbivore - feeds on algae.

Fisheries

The Silver Drummer is a popular angling fish and is regarded as a tough fighter. However, it is considered by most people to be inedible.

Remarks

Silver Drummer are easily confused with Kyphosus bigibbus. Records of Silver Drummer from north of the Houtman Abrolhos, Western Australia, and from the Lord Howe Province and Norfolk Island in the Tasman Sea, are misidentifications of Kyphosus bigibbus. Records from Lord Howe Island may be based on more than one species, and Silver Drummer may occur there.

Etymology

The name sydneyanus is from Port Jackson, the type locality.

Species Citation

Pimelepterus sydneyanus Günther, 1886,  Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 5 18(36): 368. Type locality: Port Jackson, New South Wales.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2021

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Silver Drummer, Kyphosus sydneyanus (Günther 1886)

References


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

Clements, K.D. & J.H. Choat. 1997. Comparison of herbivory in the closely-related marine fish genera Girella and Kyphosus. Mar. Biol. 127: 579-586.

Edgar, G.J. 2000. Australian Marine Life: the plants and animals of temperate waters. Sydney : Reed New Holland 544 pp. [Revised]

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

Gomon, M.F. 2008. Families Monodactylidae, Arripidae, Kyphosidae, Girellidae, Microcanthidae, Scorpididae. pp. 596-607 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., Glover, C.J.M. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds) 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. Adelaide : State Printer 992 pp. 810 figs.

Günther, A. 1886. Note on Pachymetopon and the Australian species of Pimelepterus. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 5 18(36): 367-368 (described as Pimelepterus sydneyanus)

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. 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. 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. & Swainston, R. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete field guide for anglers and divers. Perth : Swainston Publishing 180 pp.

Hutchins, J.B. & Thompson, M. 1983. The Marine and Estuarine Fishes of South-western Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 103 pp. 345 figs.

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)

Knudsen, S.W. & Clements, K.D. 2013. Kyphosus gladius, a new species of sea chub from western Australia (Teleostei: Kyphosidae), with comments on Segutilum klunzingeri Whitley. Zootaxa 3599(1): 1-18. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3599.1.1

Knudsen, S.W. & Clements, K.D. 2013. Revision of the fish family Kyphosidae (Teleostei: Perciformes). Zootaxa 3751(1): 1-101

Knudsen, S.W. & Clements, K.D. 2015. 190 Family Kyphosidae. pp. 1314-1319 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.

Knudsen, S.W. & Clements, K.D. 2016. World-wide species distributions in the family Kyphosidae (Teleostei: Perciformes). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 101: 252-266 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2016.04.037

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

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.

Kuiter, R. & Kuiter, S. 2018. Coastal sea-fishes of south-eastern Australia. Seaford, Victoria : Aquatic Photographics, 371 pp.

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

Moran, D. & Clements, K.D. 2002. Diet and endogenous carbohydrases in the temperate marine herbivorous fish Kyphosus sydneyanus. Journal of Fish Biology 60: 1190-1203.

Ogilby, J.D. 1887. On an undescribed Pimelepterus from Port Jackson. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1886: 539-540 (described as Pimelepterus meridionalis)

Randall, J.E. 2005. Reef and shore fishes of the South Pacific. New Caledonia to Tahiti and the Pitcairn Islands. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 720 pp.

Sakai, K. 2001. Kyphosidae. pp. 3290-3296 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.

Sakai, K. & Nakabo, T. 2006. Taxonomic reviews of two Indo-Pacific sea chubs, Kyphosus cinerascens (Forsskål, 1775) and Kyphosus sydneyanus (Günther, 1886). Ichthyological Research 53(4): 337-356.

Scott, E.O.G. 1971. Observations on some Tasmanian fishes. Part 18. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 105: 119-143 fig. 1 (described as Kyphosus diemenensis)

Scott, T.D., Glover, C.J.M. & Southcott, R.V. 1974. The Marine and Freshwater Fishes of South Australia. Adelaide : Government Printer 392 pp. figs.

Taylor, R.B. & Willis, T.J. 1998. Relationships amongst length, weight and growth of north-eastern New Zealand reef fishes. Marine and Freshwater Research 49: 255-260.

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

Whitley, G.P. 1938. A new Stromateiform fish from South Australia. Records of the South Australian Museum 6(2): 159-162 pl 16 (described as Cridorsa moonta)

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37361001

Behaviour:Sports fish, poor eating

Depth:0-30 m

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:80 cm TL

Species Image Gallery

Species Maps

CAAB distribution map