Jansen's Goatfish, Parupeneus jansenii (Bleeker 1856)

Summary:

A pinkish-red to vermillion goatfish becoming paler on the sides and silvery-white below, with a broad, pale orange-yellow stripe along the lateral line. a red iris, and white barbels, or rose to reddish barbels with white tips.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2025, Parupeneus jansenii in Fishes of Australia, accessed 06 Jul 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/5515

Jansen's Goatfish, Parupeneus jansenii (Bleeker 1856)

More Info

Distribution	North-east Queensland, from the Torres Strait south to off Townsville, at depths of 23-76 m. Elsewhere the species occurs in the Eastern Indian Ocean and Western Pacific: Myanmar and Indonesia, east to the Philippines and Papua New Guinea, north to Japan, and south to Queensland.
Features	Dorsal fin VIII + 9; Anal fin I, 7; Pectoral fin 14-16; Gill rakers 6-7 + 20-22 = 26-29; Vertebrae: 24. Body depth 3.6-4.2 in SL; head length (HL) 2.85-3.1 in SL; snout short, length 1.85-2.3 in HL; barbels extend to rear margin of preopercle, barbel length 1.3–1.6 in HL; posterior end of maxilla evenly convex.
Colour	Fresh coloration: body and head rose, pink, or vermillion, colour may become paler below lateral line and eye; scale edges darker; body silvery white ventrally; one yellow-orange mid-lateral stripe sometimes visible from behind operculum along lateral line; caudal fin red or dark orange along proximal exterior sides of lobes, the remaining parts orange-yellowish to hyaline; dorsal fins and anterior part of pelvic fins pale red or pale orange; anal fin crossed by weakly indicated red-greenish stripes; barbels white or rose to red at basis, tips white.
Similar Species	Differs from the similar Opalescent Goatfish, *Parupeneus heptacanthus. in having a more elongated body with a shallower caudal peduncle and mostly shorter barbels, body depth 3.8–4.5 in SL (vs 2.9–3.6); caudal peduncle depth 3.6–4.1 (vs 2.6–3.4) in head length; barbel length 1.3–1.6 (vs 1.1–1.4) in head length. P. jansenii* also lacks a small reddish-brown spot on the body above the pectoral fin.
Etymology	The species is named in honour "of my friend Mr. Jansen, resident of Manado" who provided the type specimen to Bleeker.
Species Citation	Upeneus jansenii Bleeker 1856, Acta Societatis Scientiarum Indo-Neerlandicae 1: 44. Type locality: Manado, Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2025
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Jansen's Goatfish, Parupeneus jansenii (Bleeker 1856)

References

Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.

Bleeker, P. 1856. Beschrijvengen van nieuwe of weinig bekende vischsoorten van Menado en Makassar grootendeels verzameld op eene reis naar den Molukschen Archipel in het gevolg van den Gouverneur-Generaal Duymaer van Twist. Acta Societatis Scientiarum Indo-Neerlandicae 1: 1-80

Bleeker, P. 1864. Quatrième notice sur la faune ichthyologique de l'île de Bouro. Nederlandsch Tijdschrift voor de Dierkunde 2: 141-151

Gloerfelt-Tarp, T. & Kailola, P.J. 1984. Trawled Fishes of Southern Indonesia and Northwest Australia. Jakarta : Dir. Gen. Fish. (Indonesia), German Tech. Coop., Aust. Dev. Ass. Bur. 406 pp.

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

Smith-Vaniz, W.F., Williams, I. & Carpenter, K.E. 2016. Parupeneus jansenii (errata version published in 2017). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T69182673A115461197. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T69182673A69183304.en. Accessed on 30 June 2025.

Uiblein, F., Hoang, T.A., Alama, U., Causse, R., Chacate, O.E., Faime, Garibay, S. & Matiku, P. 2018. A new species and new records of goatfishes of the genus Parupeneus (Mullidae) from the Indian Ocean, with updated occurrence information for P. jansenii in the Western Pacific. Cybium 42(3): 229-256

Uiblein, F., Hoang, T.A. & Gledhill, D. 2017. Redescription and new records of Jansen's goatfish, Parupeneus jansenii (Mullidae), from the western Pacific and eastern Indian Ocean. Zootaxa 4344(3): 541-559