Tailbar Goatfish, Upeneus caudofasciatus Uiblein & Gledhill 2019

Freshly caught holotype of the Tailbar Goatfish, Upeneus caudofasciatus (CSIRO H 6717-02, 116 mm SL), from north of Rockingham Bay, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. Source: Daniel C. Gledhill, Australian National Fish Collection, CSIRO. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Summary:

A reddish-brown or mottled dark grey goatfish with a white underside, a barred caudal fin (upper lobe with 4-5 reddish to dark brown bars, lower lobe with 4-9 bars), sometimes a black tip on the lower lobe, pale chin barbels, a yellowish to pale brown mid-lateral stripe following the lateral line (stripe with 1-4 horizontal series of 2–4 dark dots, the posteriormost dots behind second dorsal-fin base). The first dorsal has 3-4 reddish to brown (often fused) stripes without a dark tip, and the second dorsal fin has 3-4 well-separated red to brown stripes.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2024, Upeneus caudofasciatus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 20 Mar 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/5523

Tailbar Goatfish, Upeneus caudofasciatus Uiblein & Gledhill 2019

More Info

Distribution	Endemic to northeastern Australia, from the Gulf of Carpentaria, to northeast of Gladstone, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland; elsewhere the species occurs in the Torres Strait, Papua New Guinea. Inhabits shallow soft bottom areas near coral reefs in depths to 60 m, commonly between between 15-40 m.
Features	Dorsal fin III + 9 (first spine minute); Pectoral fins 12-14; Gill rakers 5-7 + 16-19 = 22-25; Lateral-line scales 28-30. Body depth at first dorsal-fin origin 24-28 % SL, depth at anus 19-24 % SL.
Colour	Fresh specimens: head and body dorsally red-brown or dark grey mottled, ventrally white, often with pale beige dots; upper lobe of caudal fin with 4 or 5 red or brown bars (3 or 4 bars in subadults), lower caudal-fin lobe with 4 to 9 red, brown or darkbrown bars, sometimes dorsally covered by a red, brown or dark-brown stripe; bars on both lobes of pupil width or less, interrupted by pale, partly hyaline interspaces of less or similar width; lower caudal-lobe tip sometimes black; barbels white, pale rose whitish, or white with beige tip region; a single yellow, beige or pale brown mid-lateral body stripe of pupil width from snout tip through eye to caudal-fin base, following lateral line in anterior two thirds of body; stripe covered by 1–4 sections with horizontal series of 2–4 dark dots, the posteriormost dots behind second dorsal-fin base; first dorsal fin with 3 or 4 red or brown, often fused stripes and the tip region pale or not darker than rest of fin; second dorsal fin with 3 or 4 red or brown well-separated stripes with hyaline interspaces; pectoral fins hyaline, pelvic and anal fins weakly pigmented and partly hyaline; preserved fish pale, often with remains of dark pigmentation deriving from caudal-fin bars, mid-lateral dots, saddle and/or second dorsal-fin distal stripe.
Fisheries	Taken as bycatch in commercial trawls, commonly at depths between 15 and 40 m.
Etymology	The specific name caudofasciatus is from the Latin cauda (= tail) and fasciatus (= banded), in reference to the conspicuous oblique bars that entirely cross both caudal-fin lobes.
Species Citation	Upeneus caudofasciatus Uiblein & Gledhill, in Uiblein, Gledhill, Pavlov, Hoang & Shaheen 2019, Zootaxa 4683(2): 168, Figs. 7A-C. Type locality: Great Barrier Reef, north of Rockingham Bay, Queensland, northeast Australia, 17°38.57'S, 146°22.79'E, depth 26 m.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2024
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Tailbar Goatfish, Upeneus caudofasciatus Uiblein & Gledhill 2019

References

Uiblein, F. 2020. Upeneus caudofasciatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T162917734A162917746. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T162917734A162917746.en. Accessed on 18 November 2024.

Uiblein, F., Gledhill, D.C., Pavlov, D.A., Hoang, T.A. & Shaheen, S. 2019. Three new goatfishes of the genus Upeneus (Mullidae) from the Indo-Pacific, with a redescription of colour patterns in U. margarethae. Zootaxa 4683(2): 151-196 http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4683.2.1