Star-spotted Perchlet, Chelidoperca stella Matsunuma & Motomura 2016

Other Names: Blue-spotted Sea-bass

Summary:

A yellowish to pale pinkish perchlet becoming whitish ventrally, with iridescent blue spots along the lower side, a bright yellow upper jaw and lower orbital rim, small yellow spots on the dorsal-fin membrane, a white anal fin with a broad yellow margin, white pelvic fins with a transverse row of three small yellow spots posteriorly, and a dusky caudal fin.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2022, Chelidoperca stella in Fishes of Australia, accessed 26 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/5671

Star-spotted Perchlet, Chelidoperca stella Matsunuma & Motomura 2016

More Info

Distribution	Northwest Shelf, Western Australia, and off Kurrimine Beach, Coral Sea, Queensland, to south of Howard Patch Reef, southern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical, East-Indo-west Pacific. Inhabits muddy areas on the continental shelf .
Features	Dorsal fin X,10; Pectoral fin 15; Lateral-line, pored scales 34-35; Scale rows in longitudinal series 35-37; Scale rows between lateral line and base of sixth dorsal-fin spine 2.5; preopercular serrae 33-43; interopercular serrae 7–10; subopercular serrae 18–28. Body moderately elongate, cylindrical, its depth 3.6–4.5 in SL;; interorbital scales slightly extending anteriorly, almost reaching or slightly beyond level of mid-orbit; relatively wide interorbital region, its width 3.1–3.7 (mean 3.3) % SL; length of longest anal-fin soft ray moderate, 17.4–18.7 (18.1) % SL; pelvic fin white with several small yellow spots; no longitudinal dark bands on body sides.
Size	3 scale rows above lateral line to dorsal fin origin; 33–36 lateral line scales; 24–52 (mode 37) serrae on margin of preopercle; only upper caudal fin lobe slightly elongate and pointed; 2+6–7 developed gill rakers on 1st gill arch; 1st and 2nd pelvic fin soft rays elongate.
Colour	Pelvic fin white with several small yellow spots; no longitudinal dark bands on body sides.
Etymology	The specific name is from the Latin stella (= star), in reference to the species being characterized by several yellow spots on the pelvic fin.
Species Citation	Chelidoperca stella Matsunuma & Motomura 2016, Zootaxa 4092(3): 389, figs. 1-5. Type locality: Off Thailand, Andaman Sea, 9°13'12"N, 97°51'00"E, depth 58-60 m.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2022
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Star-spotted Perchlet, Chelidoperca stella Matsunuma & Motomura 2016

References

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. (as Chelidoperca sp 1.)

Gloerfelt-Tarp, T. & Kailola, P.J. 2022. Trawled Fishes of Southern Indonesia and Northwestern Australia. Ed. 2. See ref online

Lee, S.-H., Lee, M.-Y., Matsunuma, M. & Chen, W.-J. 2019. Exploring the phylogeny and species diversity of Chelidoperca (Teleostei: Serranidae) from the western Pacific Ocean by an integrated approach in systematics, with descriptions of three new species and a redescription of C. lecromi Fourmanoir, 1982. Frontiers in Marine Science 6(465): 1-26. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00465

Matsunuma, M. & Motomura, H. 2016. Chelidoperca stella, a new species of perchlet (Perciformes: Serranidae) from the Andaman Sea, eastern Indian Ocean. Zootaxa 4092(3): 388-400 https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4092.3.4

Sainsbury, K.J., Kailola, P.J. & Leyland, G.G. 1984. Continental Shelf Fishes of Northern and North-Western Australia. Canberra : Fisheries Information Service 375 pp. figs & pls. (as Chelidoperca sp. 1)