Goldstripe Goatfish, Mulloidichthys vanicolensis (Valenciennes 1831)


Other Names: Banded Goatfish, Golden Banded Goatfish, Goldenstripe goatfish, Gold-striped Goat-fish, Yellowfin Goatfish, Yellowstripe Goatfish, Yellow-stripe Goatfish

Goldstripe Goatfish, Mulloidichthys vanicolensis, at North Solitary Island, New South Wales. Source: Ian V. Shaw / Reef Life Survey. License: CC by Attribution

Summary:
A yellow to yellowish-orange, pinkish goatfish becoming whitish below, with a yellow stripe from the eye to the tail base, a short yellow bar on the cheek, yellow scale margins on the back, and yellow fins. The  Goldstripe Goatfish has no dark blotch below the middle of the first dorsal fin.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2023, Mulloidichthys vanicolensis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/584

Goldstripe Goatfish, Mulloidichthys vanicolensis (Valenciennes 1831)

More Info


Distribution

Ningaloo Reef and offshore reefs of north Western Australia, and Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea, around the tropical north to central New South Wales (Port Hacking) including reefs in the Coral Sea; also Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean, and the Lord Howe Province and Norfolk Island in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere, the species is widespread in the tropical, Indo-west-central Pacific, from the Red Sea to Hawaii, and French Polynesia, north to southern Japan and south to Lord Howe Island.

Inhabits sandy areas on coastal and offshore reefs - including reef flats, lagoons and occasionally seagrass beds. The Goldstripe Goatfish often forms large schools during the day, dispersing at night to feed over sand flats.

Features

Dorsal fin VIII + 9; Anal fin I, 7. 
Body depth 3.4-4.5 in SL; head length 2.9-3.4 in SL, snout length 2.2.-2.6 in HL, barbel length 1.2-1.5 in HL. 

Feeding

Feeds on a range of benthic invertebrates including polychaete worms, crustaceans, ophiurids, small molluscs, heart urchins, and foraminiferans.

Similar Species

The similar Yellowstripe Goatfish, Mulloidichthys flavolineatus, usually has a dark blotch on the mid-lateral stripe below the middle of the first dorsal fin (although the blotch is not always present).

Etymology

The species is named for the type locality, Vanicolo Island (= Vanikoro Island, Santa Cruz islands, Solomon Islands). 

Species Citation

Upeneus vanicolensis Valenciennes, in Cuvier & Valenciennes 1831, Hist. Nat. Poiss. 7: 521. Type locality: Vanicolo Island, Santa Cruz Island (= Vanikoro Island, Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands).

Author

Bray, D.J. 2023

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Goldstripe Goatfish, Mulloidichthys vanicolensis (Valenciennes 1831)

References


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

Allen, G.R. 1993. Fishes of Ashmore Reef and Cartier Island. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 44: 67-91.

Allen, G.R., Hoese, D.F., Paxton, J.R., Randall, J.E., Russell, B.C., Starck, W.A., Talbot, F.H. & Whitley, G.P. 1976. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Lord Howe Island. Records of the Australian Museum 30(15): 365-454 figs 1-2

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

Allen, G.R. & Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 1994. Fishes of Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 412: 1-21.

Allen, G.R. & Steene, R.C. 1988. Fishes of Christmas Island Indian Ocean. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 197 pp.

Allen, G.R., Steene, R.C. & Orchard, M. 2007. Fishes of Christmas Island. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 2 edn, 284 pp.

Cuvier, G.L. & Valenciennes, A. 1831. Histoire Naturelle des Poissons. Paris : Levrault Vol. 7 531 pp. pls 170-208. See ref at BHL

Davis, T. 2016. First records of three fishes, and southern records of a further four fishes, from New South Wales, Australia. Check List 12(6): 1-6. https://doi.org/10.15560/12.6.2008 

Francis, M. 2022. Checklist of the coastal fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk, and Kermadec Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean. December 2022. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.21563766.v2

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

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

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. 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.

Larson, H.K., Williams, R.S. & Hammer, M.P. 2013. An annotated checklist of the fishes of the Northern Territory, Australia. Zootaxa 3696(1): 1-293.

Marshall, T.C. 1964. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coastal Waters of Queensland. Sydney : Angus & Robertson 566 pp. 136 pls. (as Mulloidichthys auriflamma)

Oxley, W.G., Ayling, A.M., Cheal, A.J. & Thompson, A.A. 2003. Marine surveys undertaken in the Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve, March-April 2003. Townsville : Australian Institute of Marine Science 59 pp.

Oxley, W.G., Emslie, M., Muir, P. & Thompson, A.A. 2004. Marine surveys undertaken in the Lihou Reef National Nature Reserve, March 2004. Townsville : Australian Institute of Marine Science i-vii, 1-67 pp.

Randall, J.E. 2001. Mullidae. pp. 3175-3200 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.

Randall, J.E. 2005. Reef and shore fishes of the South Pacific. New Caledonia to Tahiti and the Pitcairn Islands. Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press 707 pp.

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.

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs.

Smith-Vaniz, W.F. & Williams, I. 2016. Mulloidichthys vanicolensis (errata version published in 2017). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T69181884A115458186. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T69181884A69183259.en. Downloaded on 02 April 2018.

Stewart, A.S. 2015. 185 Family Mullidae pp. 1289-1294 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.
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Uiblein, F. 2011. Taxonomic review of western Indian Ocean goatfishes of the genus Mulloidichthys (Family Mullidae), with description of a new species and remarks on colour and body form variation in Indo-West Pacific species. Smithiana, Publications in Aquatic Biodiversity, Bulletin 13: 51-73.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37355020

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Depth:1-113 m

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:38 cm TL

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CAAB distribution map