Upeneichthys porosus (Cuvier 1829)

Other Names: Blackspot Goatfish

Summary:

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2025, Upeneichthys porosus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 04 Jun 2026, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/5514

Upeneichthys porosus (Cuvier 1829)

More Info

Distribution	Australian Territory of Norfolk Island in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species occurs in northern New Zealand, including the Kermadec Islands. Inhabits sand patches around reefs at depths to 100 m.
Remarks	This species was previously treated as a subspecies of Upeneichthys lineatus.
Similar Species
Etymology	The specific name is from the Latin porosus (= full of pores, holes) in reference to the very small pores on the snout, suborbital, and around the eyes.
Species Citation	Upeneus porosus Cuvier, in Cuvier & Valenciennes 1829, Histoire Naturelle des Poissons Vol. 3: 455. Type locality: Bay of Islands area, New Zealand
Author	Bray, D.J. 2025
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Upeneichthys porosus (Cuvier 1829)

References

Ben-Tuvia, A. 1986. Taxonomic status of Upeneichthys lineatus (Bloch) in Australian and New Zealand waters. pp. 590-594 figs 1-2 in Uyeno, T., Arai, R., Taniuchi, T. & Matsuura, K. (eds). Indo-Pacific Fish Biology. Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Indo-Pacific Fishes. Tokyo : Ichthyological Society of Japan 985 pp. (as Upeneichthys lineatus)

Cuvier, G.L. in Cuvier, G.L. & Valenciennes, A. 1829. Histoire Naturelle des Poissons. Paris : Levrault Vol. 3 500 pp., pls 41-71. See ref at BHL

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 (as Upeneichthys lineatus)

Francis, M. 2012. Coastal Fishes of New Zealand. New Zealand : Craig Potton Publishing 4th edn, 268 pp.

Francis, M.P. 2019. Checklist of the coastal fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk and Kermadec Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean. Version: 2019.2 figshare. Collection. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4428305.v2

Francis, M.P., Grace, R.V. & & Paulin, C.D. 1987. Coastal fishes of the Kermadec Islands. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 21(1): 1-13, https://doi.org/10.1080/00288330.1987.9516194 (as Upeneichthys lineatus)

Hutchins, J.B. 1990. Description of a new species of mullid fish from south-western Australia, with comments on Upeneichthys lineatus. Records of the Western Australian Museum 14(4): 483-493 figs 1-4 (as Upeneichthys lineatus porosus)

Kim, B.-J. 2002. Comparative anatomy and phylogeny of the family Mullidae (Teleostei: Perciformes). Memoirs of the Graduate School of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University 49(1): 1-74

Stewart, A.L. 2015. 185 Family Mullidae, pp. 1289-1294 in Roberts, C.D., Stewart, A.L. & Struthers, C.D. (eds) The Fishes of New Zealand. Wellington : Te Papa Press Vol. 4 pp. 1153-1748.

Uiblein, F., Williams, J.T., Bailly, N., Hoang, T.A & Rajan, P.T. 2024. Four new goatfishes (Upeneus, Mullidae, Mulliformes) from the Asian Indo-Pacific with a list of valid goatfish species and remarks on goatfish diversity. Cybium 48(2): 135-160. https://doi.org/10.26028/cybium/2024-001