- Classification
- ACTINOPTERYGII
- PERCIFORMES
- LEIOGNATHIDAE
- Deveximentum
- megalolepis
Bigscale Ponyfish, Deveximentum megalolepis Mochizuki & Hayashi 1989
Other Names: Bigscaled Ponyfish
A Bigscale Ponyfish, Deveximentum megalolepis, USNM 403406, from Bais market, Negros, Negros Oriental, Philippines, June 2011. Source: Jeffrey T. Williams / Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History. License: CC BY Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike
Summary:
A silvery ponyfish with dark markings forming about 10 irregular “bars” along the upper sides, anterior bars comprising columns of short bars and spots, a prominent curved black band running from the lower margin of the eye to the rear angle of the lower jaw, a black tip on the spinous dorsal fin, and a black line from the anteroventral margin of the orbit to the chin.
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2022, Deveximentum megalolepis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 03 Jul 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2452
Bigscale Ponyfish, Deveximentum megalolepis Mochizuki & Hayashi 1989
More Info
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Distribution |
NE of Rosella Shoal off The Kimberley, Western Australia, to Bundaberg, Queensland. Elsewhere the species occurs in the east-Indo-west Pacific. Forms schools over soft bottom habitats in shallow coastal waters and estuaries. |
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Features |
Gill rakers 21–25; lateral-line scales 42-49; Scale rows above lateral line 6-7; Scale rows below lateral line 13-15; Scale rows between pectoral and pelvic fin bases 9-11; Cheek scale rows 6-9. Body oval, compressed, depth 1.6–1.5 in SL; head strongly concave above eye, mouth angled upwards, anterior profile of lower jaw almost vertical when mouth closed; body scales relatively large; cheek and breast including isthmus fully scaled; lateral line terminating below rear of soft dorsal fin. |
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Size |
to 7.5 cm TL (total length) |
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Fisheries |
Taken mostly in bottoms trawls. |
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Remarks |
This species was previously known as Secutor megalolepis. |
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Etymology |
The specific name megalolepis is from the Latin megalo- (= large) and lepis (= scale) in reference to the large scales on the cheek and body compared with those of other members of the genus Secutor at the time. |
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Species Citation |
Secutor megalolepis Mochizuki & Hayashi 1989, Science Reports of the Yokosuka City Museum 37: 86, fig. 8a, b. Type locality: Songkhla, Thailand. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2022 |
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Resources |
Bigscale Ponyfish, Deveximentum megalolepis Mochizuki & Hayashi 1989
References
Hoese, D.F. & Bray, D.J. 2006. Leiognathidae. pp. 1176-1182 in Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & Allen, G.R. Fishes. In, Beesley, P.L. & Wells, A. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Vol. 35. Volume 35 Australia : ABRS & CSIRO Publishing Parts 1-3, 2178 pp. (as Secutor megalolepis)
Kottelat, M. 2013. The fishes of the inland waters of southeast Asia: a catalogue and core bibliography of the fishes known to occur in freshwaters, mangroves and estuaries. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 27: 1-663
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 (as Secutor megalolepis)
Mochizuki, K. & Hayashi, M. 1989. Revision of the leiognathid fishes of the genus Secutor, with two new species. Science Reports of the Yokosuka City Museum 37: 83-95 figs 1-7
Woodland, D.J., Premcharoen, S. & Cabanban, A.S. 2001. Leiognathidae. pp. 2792-2823 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. (as Secutor megalolepis)
