Western Roughy, Optivus agrammus Gomon 2004
A Western Roughy, Optivus agrammus, at night at the wreck of the Omeo, Port Coogee, Perth, Western Australia, 23 May 2018, depth ~2.5m. Source: Glen Whisson / Aqua Research and Monitoring Services. License: All rights reserved
Summary:
A small greenish-brown roughy becoming silvery below, with pinkish fins and dusky red tips on caudal fin lobes.
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2021, Optivus agrammus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 17 Sep 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/1740
Western Roughy, Optivus agrammus Gomon 2004
More Info
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Distribution |
Endemic to southern Australia, from Venus Bay, South Australia, to the Houtman Abrolhos islands, Western Australia. Found near reefs in depths to 320 m. |
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Features |
Dorsal fin III-V, 10-11; Anal fin III, 9-10; Caudal fin 19; Pectoral fin 12-13; Pelvic fin I, 6; Lateral line scales 26; Scales above lateral line 9-11; scales below lateral line 12-15; Predorsal scales 27–29; Ventral scutes 9-11; Gill rakers 20-24; Vertebrae 12 + 14. Lateral profile of nape and dorsal surface of head gently curved, nearly horizontal in front of dorsal-fin origin, almost straight between eyes; tip of snout broadly rounded; depth of head at vertical through upper end of gill opening 2.7–2.9 times in SL; snout length 1.5–2.6 times in eye diameter; inner row of teeth on premaxilla noticeably longer than others; caudal peduncle relatively short and deep, depth 0. 9–1.2 in length; dorsal and anal fins relatively low, third segmented dorsal-fin ray 3.8–4.6 times in SL, first anal-fin ray 5.6–8.2 times in SL. |
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Colour |
Body greenish-brown on back, silvery below; fins almost uniformly pink, though slightly dusky tips to caudal-fin lobes. |
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Similar Species |
Differs from the Violet Roughy, Optivus agastos, in lacking the brown stripe along each caudal fin lobe |
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Etymology |
The specific name agrammus, is from the Greek a (= without), and gramme (= line), in reference to the absence of stripes on the caudal fin of this species. |
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Species Citation |
Optivus agrammus Gomon 2004, Rec. Aust. Mus. 56: .176, figs 1-2. Type locality: Great Australian Bight, SA [31°50'S, 130°45'E]. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2021 |
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Resources |
Western Roughy, Optivus agrammus Gomon 2004
References
Gomon, M.F. 1994. Families Trachichthyidae, Monocentridae. pp. 399-412 figs 358-369 in Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds). The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. Adelaide : State Printer 992 pp. 810 figs. (as Optivus sp. 2)
Gomon, M.F. 2004. Two new species of roughy (Trachichthyidae: Optivus) from coastal waters of southern Australia. Records of the Australian Museum 56: 173-178 https://doi.org/10.3853/j.0067-1975.56.2004.1419
Gomon, M.F. 2008. Family Trachichthyidae. pp. 420-430 in Gomon, M.F., Bray, D.J. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds). Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Sydney : Reed New Holland 928 pp.
Kotlyar, A.N., 1996. Beryciform Fishes of the World Ocean. Moscow: VNIRO Publishing, 368 pp. (as Optivus sp. 2)
McKay, R.J. 1970. Additions to the fish fauna of Western Australia—5. Department of Fisheries and Fauna Western Australia, Fisheries Bulletin 9(5): 1–24 (as Optivus elongatus)
May, J.L. & Maxwell, J.G.H. 1986. Field Guide to Trawl Fish from Temperate Waters of Australia. Hobart : CSIRO Division of Marine Research 492 pp. (as Optivus n. sp.)
