Sunrise Goatfish, Upeneus sulphureus Cuvier 1829

Other Names: Sulphur Goatfish, Sunrise Goat-fish, Yellow Goldfish

Sunrise Goatfish, Upeneus sulphureus. Source: Dinh D. Tran, FiMSeA / http://ffish.asia. License: CC by Attribution

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2025, Upeneus sulphureus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 07 Jul 2026, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/1196

Sunrise Goatfish, Upeneus sulphureus Cuvier 1829

More Info

Distribution	Shark Bay, Western Australia, around the tropical north to the Burnett River, Queensland. Elsewhere the species is widespread in the tropical, Indo-west Pacific.
Features	Dorsal fin VIII + 9; Pectoral fin 14–17; Gill rakers 7–9 upper + 18–22 lower = 26–31 total; Lateral-line scales 32–37; Body moderately deep or rather deep; measurements as % SL: body depth at anal-fin origin 22–29;
Species Citation	Upeneus sulphureus Cuvier, in Cuvier & Valenciennes 1829, Histoire Naturelle des Poissons Vol. 3: 450. Type locality: Antjer Straits of Sundra, Indonesia.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2025

Sunrise Goatfish, Upeneus sulphureus Cuvier 1829

References

Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls. Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp. Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls. Blaber, S.J.M., Brewer, D.T. & Harris, A.N. 1994. Distribution, biomass and community structure of demersal fishes of the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 45(3): 375-396, figs 1-7 Cuvier, G.L. in Cuvier, G.L. & Valenciennes, A. 1829. Histoire Naturelle des Poissons. Paris : Levrault Vol. 3 500 pp., pls 41-71. FAO-FIES 2017. Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Information System (ASFIS) species list. http://www.fao.org/fishery/collection/asfis/en 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. Grant, E.M. 1975. Guide to Fishes. Brisbane : Queensland Government, Co-ordinator General’s Department 640 pp. Hoese, D.F. The Australian Faunal Directory, http://biodiversity.org.au/afd Hutchins, J.B. 2001. Checklist of the fishes of Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 63: 9-50 Hutchins, J.B. 2003. Checklist of marine fishes of the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia. pp. 453-478 in Wells, F.E., Walker, D.I., & Jones, D.S. (eds). Proceedings of the Eleventh International Marine Biological Workshop: The Marine Flora and Fauna of Dampier, Western Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum. 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 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. & Kulbicki, M. 2006. A review of the goatfishes of the genus Upeneus (Perciformes: Mullidae) from New Caledonia and the Chesterfield Bank, with a new species and four new records. Zoological Studies 45(3): 298-307 Russell, B.C. & Houston, W. 1989. Offshore fishes of the Arafura Sea. The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory 6(1): 69-84 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.

Smith-Vaniz, W.F. & Williams, I. 2016. Upeneus sulphureus (errata version published in 2017). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T50903138A115404467. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T50903138A51347569.en. Accessed on 26 August 2025.