Lesser-scaled Cockatoo Waspfish, Ablabys pauciporus Chungthanawong & Motomura 2018

Summary:

A bright reddish-orange waspfish becoming paler below, with a prominent white blotch (sometimes indistinct) on the body above the lateral line, a white stripe along the snout profile, and bright reddish-orange fins with small whitish spots.
The Lesser-scaled Cockatoo Waspfish is only known from the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2025, Ablabys pauciporus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 27 Jun 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/5479

Lesser-scaled Cockatoo Waspfish, Ablabys pauciporus Chungthanawong & Motomura 2018

More Info

Distribution	Endemic to the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, and known only from Swain Reefs at depths between 44-65 m.
Features	Dorsal fin XVI-XVII, 5-6; Anal fin III, 4-5; Pectoral fin 11; lateral-line pores 12-13; Longitudinal scale rows 47-55; Scale rows above lateral line 0-1; Scale rows below lateral line 17-18; Scale rows between last dorsal-fin spine base and lateral line 4-5; Scale rows between sixth dorsal-fin spine base and lateral line 1-4; Vertebrae 9 + 15. Scales covering thorax; interspinous dorsal-fin membranes strongly notched; last dorsal-fin soft ray joined posteriorly by membrane to dorsal edge of caudal peduncle but not to upper margin of caudal fin; head length 37.7–38.7% (mean 38.2%) of SL; head depth 28.1–30.3% (29.1%) of SL; orbit diameter 12.4–12.7% (12.5%) of SL; anal-fin base length 19.8–22.8% (21.2%) of SL; pectoral-fin length 37.5–41.8% (39.9%) of SL; longest pelvic-fin soft ray length 30.5–31.2% (30.9%) of SL.
Colour
Similar Species	Differs from the Cockatoo Waspfish, Ablabys taenianotus, in having distinctly lower counts of body scales, including the number of lateral-line pores (12 or 13 vs. 20–25 in A. taenianotus), strongly notched interspinous dorsal-fin membranes (vs. weakly notched or unnotched in A. taenianotus), and some differing morphometrics (including head depth, orbit diameter and pelvic-fin length) and in coloration.
Etymology	The specific name is from the Latin pauciporus (= few pores), in reference to the low number of lateral-line pores.
Species Citation	Ablabys pauciporus Chungthanawong & Motomura 2018, Ichthyological Research 6(1): 115, Fig. 1. Type locality: North of Riptide Cay, Swain Reefs, Queensland, Australia, 20°58'05"S, 151°51'03"E, depth 44 m.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2025
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Lesser-scaled Cockatoo Waspfish, Ablabys pauciporus Chungthanawong & Motomura 2018

References

Chungthanawong, S. & Motomura, H. 2018. Two new species of the waspfish genus Ablabys (Scorpaeniformes: Tetrarogidae) from the western Pacific Ocean. Ichthyological Research 66(1): 114–128a https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-018-0665-0