- Classification
- ACTINOPTERYGII
- PERCIFORMES
- PRIACANTHIDAE
- Priacanthus
- sagittarius
Arrowfin Bigeye, Priacanthus sagittarius Starnes 1988
Other Names: Arrow Bulleye, Robust Bigeye
Arrowfin Bigeye, Priacanthus sagittarius. Source: Australian National Fish Collection, CSIRO. License: CC BY Attribution-Noncommercial
Summary:
A silvery to reddish bigeye, often with two faint red bars and blotches on sides, a pink to bright red iris, sometimes faint pale spots on the fins and a dark blotch at the pelvic-fin base.
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2023, Priacanthus sagittarius in Fishes of Australia, accessed 06 Jul 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3485
Arrowfin Bigeye, Priacanthus sagittarius Starnes 1988
More Info
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Distribution |
Northwest of Roebuck Bay, Western Australia, and the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands in the Timor Sea, to northwest of Darwin, Northern Territory; also Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean. Elsewhere the species is widespread in the tropical, Indo-west Pacific (east to Samoa). A solitary species that inhabits sheltered reefs, caves, under coral plates, over rocky bottoms and in open areas. |
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Features |
Dorsal fin X, 13-14; Anal fin III, 13-15. Body oval; eye very large; mouth large, oblique; preopercular spine short, broad. |
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Remarks |
In 2010, this species was found to have invaded the Mediterranean Sea. |
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Etymology |
The specific name is from the Latin sagittarius (= of arrows), in reference to the “overall posterior configuration of this species, resulting from the pointed dorsal and anal fins and blunt caudal fin, which resemble the fletching and butt of an arrow.” |
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Species Citation |
Priacanthus sagittarius Starnes 1988, Bulletin of Marine Science 43(2): 1178, figs 3, 5, 8, 12, 18, pl. 3e-g. Type locality: south coast of Sumatra, Indonesia [6°13´00"S, 104°38´45"E]. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2023 |
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Resources |
Arrowfin Bigeye, Priacanthus sagittarius Starnes 1988
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.
Carpenter, K.E., Lawrence, A. & Myers, R. 2016. Priacanthus sagittarius. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T69545545A69545854. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T69545545A69545854.en. Accessed on 05 June 2023.
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 Priacanthus sp. 1)
Goren, M., Stern, N., Bella, S. G., Diamant, A. 2010. First record of the Indo-Pacific arrow bulleye Priacanthus sagittarius Starnes, 1988 in the Mediterranean Sea. Aquatic Invasions 5(1): 45-47.
Kuiter, R.H. & Tonozuka, T. 2001. Pictorial guide to Indonesian reef fishes. Part 2. Fusiliers - Dragonets, Caesionidae - Callionymidae. Seaford Australia : Zoonetics, Australia, pp. 304-622.
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
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 Priacanthus sp. 1)
Starnes, W.C. 1988. Revision, phylogeny and biogeographic comments on the circumtropical marine percoid fish family Priacanthidae. Bulletin of Marine Science 43(2): 117-203 See ref online
Starnes, W.C. 1999. Family Priacanthidae. pp. 2590-2601 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 4 pp. 2069-2790.
