Potato Rockcod, Epinephelus tukula Morgans 1959
A Potato Rockcod, Epinephelus tukula, at Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea, June 2015. Source: Ian Shaw / iNaturalist.org. License: CC By Attribution-NonCommercial
A large, robust pale brownish-grey cod covered in large dark widely-spaced blotches, dark streaks radiating from the eyes and small dark spots on the fins.
Although considered harmless, the Potato Rockcod is inqusitive, and on rare occasions, large individuals may be aggressive.
Video of Potato Rockcod at 'The Cod Hole" on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
Potato Rockcod, Epinephelus tukula Morgans 1959
More Info
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Distribution |
Recorded in Australia from the Shark Bay area, Western Australia, to Moreton Bay, Queensland. Elsewhere, widespread in the tropical Indo-west Pacific. |
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Fisheries |
Caught for the live reef fish trade and taken by recreational anglers. |
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Species Citation |
Epinephelus tukula Morgans, 1959, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 13 1(10): 651, pls 17, 19. Type locality: Mafia Island, Tanzania. |
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Author |
Dianne J. Bray |
Potato Rockcod, Epinephelus tukula Morgans 1959
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. & M.V. Erdmann. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth, Australia: Universitiy of Hawai'i Press, Volumes I-III. Tropical Reef Research.
Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1988. Fishes of Christmas Island Indian Ocean. Christmas Island Natural History Association, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, 6798, Australia. 197 p.
Allen, G.R., Steene, R.C. & Orchard, M. 2007. Fishes of Christmas Island. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 2 edn, 284 pp.
Coleman, N. 1981. Australian Sea Fishes North of 30°S. Lane Cove, NSW : Doubleday Australia Pty Ltd 297 pp.
Craig, M.T., Sadovy de Mitcheson, Y.J. & Heemstra, P.C. 2011. Groupers of the World: a Field and Market Guide. Grahamstown, South Africa : NISC Ltd 356 pp., Appendix 47 pp.
Grant, E.M. 2002. Guide to Fishes. Redcliffe : EM Grant Pty Ltd 880 pp.
Heemstra, P.C. & Randall, J.E. 1993. Groupers of the World (Family Serranidae, Subfamily Epinephelinae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of grouper, rockcod, hind, coral grouper and lyretail species known to date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125 Vol. 16. Rome: FAO. pp. 1-382
Heemstra, P.C. & Randall, J.E. 1999. Family Serranidae. pp. 2442-2548 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 2069-2790 pp.
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. 2001. Checklist of the fishes of Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 63: 9-50
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)
Lau, P.P.F. and L.W.H. Li, 2000. Identification guide to fishes in the live seafood trade of the Asia-Pacific region. World Wide Fund for Nature, Hong Kong. 137 p.
Lee, C. and Y. Sadovy, 1998. A taste for live fish: Hong Kong's live reef fish market. Naga ICLARM Q. 21(2):38-42.
Morgans, J.F.C. 1959. Three confusing species of serranid fish, one described as new, from East Africa. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 13 1(10): 642-656 figs 17-19 [dated 1958]
Pogonoski, J.J., Pollard, D.A. and Paxton, J.R. 2002. Conservation overview and action plan for Australian threatened and potentially threatened marine and estuarine fishes. Environment Australia, Canberra, Australia.
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.
Randall, J.E. & Heemstra, P.C. 1991. Revision of Indo-Pacific groupers (Perciformes: Serranidae: Epinephelinae), with descriptions of five new species. Indo-Pacific Fishes 20: 1-332.
Yeh. S., Dai, Q., Chu, Y., Kuo, C., Ting, Y. & Chang, C. 2003. Induced sex change, spawning and larviculture of potato grouper, Epinephelus tukula. Aquaculture 228: 371-381.
