Sixband Rockcod, Cephalopholis sexmaculata (Rüppell 1830)

Other Names: Freckled Cod, Freckled Rock-cod, Sixband Cod, Six-banded Rockcod, Six-banded Rock-cod, Sixblotch Hind, Sixspot Rockcod

A Sixband Rockcod, Cephalopholis sexmaculata, on Mermaid Reef, Rowley Shoals, Western Australia, October 2020. Source: Alex Hoschke / iNaturalist.org. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial

Summary:

An orange-red grouper, with small blue spots sparsely scattered on the body but more densely on head and median fins, elongated blue spots and lines on the head, four dark bars (sometimes very faint) on the body merging dorsally with blackish blotches at base of dorsal fin that extend onto the fin, and two smaller dark bar/blotches on the caudal peduncle.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2022, Cephalopholis sexmaculata in Fishes of Australia, accessed 04 Jul 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/4415

Sixband Rockcod, Cephalopholis sexmaculata (Rüppell 1830)

More Info

Distribution	Scott Reef, Western Australia, Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea, and the far northern Great Barrier Reef, to One Tree Island, Queensland; also Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean, and Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species occurs in the Indo-west-central Pacific. Inhabits coastal to outer coral reefs, usually along deep walls and caves rich with invertebrate growth.
Features	Dorsal fin IX,14-16; Anal fin III,9; Longitudinal scale series 95-108. Greatest body depth 2.5-3.0 times in standard length (for specimens 13-39 cm SL); head length 2.3-2.5 times in SL; ctenoid scales on body, including abdomen; caudal fin rounded; pelvic fins not reaching or just about the anus, 1.9-2.3 in HL.
Feeding	Feeds mostly on fishes.
Fisheries	Taken small-scale fisheries and occasionally found in the live reef fish food trade.
Etymology	The specific name sexmaculata is from the Latin sex (= six) and maculatus (= spotted), in reference to the six quadrangular black blotches along the back.
Species Citation	Serranus sexmaculatus Rüppell 1830, Fische des Rothen Meeres 3: 107. Type locality: Red Sea.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2022
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Sixband Rockcod, Cephalopholis sexmaculata (Rüppell 1830)

References

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Allen, G.R. & Steene, R.C. 1988. Fishes of Christmas Island Indian Ocean. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 197 pp.

Allen, G.R., Steene, R.C. & Orchard, M. 2007. Fishes of Christmas Island. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 2 edn, 284 pp.

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Hui, T.H., Maruse, T., Fujita, Y., Kiat, T.S. 2014. Observations on the fauna from submarine and associated anchialine caves in Christmas Island, Indian Ocean Territory, Australia. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology , Supplement 30: 406-418. See ref online

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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. & Ben Tuvia, A. 1983. A review of the groupers (Pisces : Serranidae) of the Red Sea, with description of a new species of Cephalopholis. Bulletin of Marine Science 33(2): 373-426 figs 1-27

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

Rüppell, W.P.E. 1830. Atlas zu der Reise im nördlichen Afrika. Fische des Rothen Meeres. 3. Frankfurt : H.L. Brünner 95-141 pls 25-35.

Russell, B.C. & Houston, W. 1989. Offshore fishes of the Arafura Sea. The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory 6(1): 69-84

Whitley, G.P. 1937. Further ichthyological miscellanea. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 11(2): 113-148 figs 11-13

Sadovy, Y. & Leung Lap Boon, B. 2018. Cephalopholis sexmaculata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T132741A100457437. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T132741A100457437.en. Accessed on 26 June 2022.