- Classification
- ACTINOPTERYGII
- PERCIFORMES
- SERRANIDAE
- Diploprion
- bifasciatum
Barred Soapfish, Diploprion bifasciatum Kuhl & Hasselt 1828
Other Names: Doublebanded Soapfish, Two Banded Grouper, Two-banded Perch, Two-banded Sea Perch, Two-banded Soapfish, Yellow Emperor, Yellow striped Grouper

A Barred Soapfish, Diploprion bifasciatum, at Julian Rocks near Byron Bay, New South Wales. Source: Dave Harasti / http://www.daveharasti.com/. License: All rights reserved
Summary:
Barred Soapfish usually range from pale yellow or greyish yellow to bright yellow with a dark bar through the eye and a broad dark band on the rear half of the body, and large rounded yellow fins. Large individuals may be almost black with yellow fins. Small juveniles are bluish on the front half of the body becoming yellow towards the rear, with a black spinous dorsal fin. They may resemble venomous sabretooth blennies of the genus Meiacanthus.
When stressed or threatened, Barred Soapfish secrete a skin toxin called grammistin.
Video of juvenile and adult Barred Soapfish in Aljui Bay, Indonesia.
When stressed or threatened, Barred Soapfish secrete a skin toxin called grammistin.
Video of juvenile and adult Barred Soapfish in Aljui Bay, Indonesia.
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2018, Diploprion bifasciatum in Fishes of Australia, accessed 19 Feb 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3866
Barred Soapfish, Diploprion bifasciatum Kuhl & Hasselt 1828
More Info
Distribution |
Rottnest Island, Western Australia, around the tropical north to at least the Solitary Islands, New South Wales, with juveniles to at least Shellharbour, New South Wales. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical, east-Indo-west Pacific, from the Maldives and India to Papua New Guinea, north to southern Japan, and south to Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea.Inhabits coastal rocky and coral reefs, often near caves and crevices, or in semi-silty areas. |
Features |
Dorsal fin VIII, 13-16; Anal fin II, 12-13. Body compressed, relatively deep, width 3.3-4 in depth. |
Feeding |
Carnivore - preys mainly on fishes. |
Remarks |
When threatened or stressed, Barred Soapfish secrete a skin toxin to deter predators. |
Species Citation |
Diploprion bifasciatum Cuvier, 1828, Hist. Nat. Poiss. 2: 137, pl. 21. Type locality: Java, Indonesia |
Author |
Bray, D.J. 2018 |
Resources |
Barred Soapfish, Diploprion bifasciatum Kuhl & Hasselt 1828
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.
Cuvier, G.L. in Cuvier, G.L. & Valenciennes, A. 1828. Histoire Naturelle des Poissons. Paris : Levrault Vol. 2 xxi, 2 + 490 pp., pls 9-40.
Francis, M. 1993. Checklist of the coastal fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk, and Kermadec Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean. Pacific Science 47(2): 136-170 figs 1-2
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.
Johnson, J.W. 1999. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 43(2): 709-762.
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)
Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 437 pp.
Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. A comprehensive reference for divers and fishermen. Sydney, NSW, Australia : New Holland Publishers xvii, 434 pp.
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Kuiter R.W. & Tonozuka, T. 2001. Indonesian Reef Fishes. Part 3. Melbourne : Zoonetics pp. 623–893.
Larson, H.K. & Williams, R.S. 1997. Darwin Harbour fishes: a survey and annotated checklist. pp. 339-380 in Hanley, H.R., Caswell, G., Megirian, D. & Larson, H.K. (eds). The Marine Flora and Fauna of Darwin Harbour, Northern Territory, Australia. Proceedings of the Sixth International Marine Biology Workshop. Darwin : Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory 466 pp.
Onuki, H., Tachibana, K. & Fusetani, N. 1993. Structure of lipogrammistin-A, a lipophilic ichthyotoxin secreted by the soapfish Diploprion bifasciatum. Tetrahedron Letters 34(35): 27 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0040-4039(00)73894-9 Abstract
Randall, J.E. 2005. Reef and shore fishes of the South Pacific. New Caledonia to Tahiti and the Pitcairn Islands. Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press 707 pp.
Randall, J.E., Katsumi, A., Hibiya, T., Mitsunra, N., Kamiya, H. & Hashimoto, Y. 1971. Grammistin, the skin toxin of soapfishes, and its significance in the classification of the Grammistidae. Publications of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory 19(2-3): 157-190 PDF available, Open access
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.
Russell, B.C. 1983. Annotated checklist of the coral reef fishes in the Capricorn-Bunker group, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Special Publication Series 1: 1-184 figs 1-2
Sainsbury, K.J., Kailola, P.J. & Leyland, G.G. 1985. Continental Shelf Fishes of Northern and North-Western Australia. Canberra : Fisheries Information Service 375 pp. figs & pls.
Williams, J.T., Carpenter, K.E., Lawrence, A. & Myers, R. 2016. Diploprion bifasciatum. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T69584403A69592287. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T69584403A69592287.en. Downloaded on 11 March 2018.