Autumn Lizardfish, Synodus autumnus Furuhashi & Motomura 2025

Summary:

; body with 5 reddish saddle-like blotches; lateral surface below lateral line with a straight row of brown blotches when fresh.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2025, Synodus autumnus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 10 Jul 2026, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/5776

Autumn Lizardfish, Synodus autumnus Furuhashi & Motomura 2025

More Info

Distribution	Elsewhere the species is widespread in the eastern Indian and Pacific oceans: Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Palau, the Marshall Islands, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Tonga, and the Hawaiian Islands. Inhabits inshore areas with coral or rocky reefs and boulders.
Features	Dorsal fin 11-13; Anal fin 8-10; Pectoral fin 11-12; Pelvic fin 8; Gill rakers 7-12 + 14-18 = 22-29; Lateral-line scales 49-51; Scale rows above lateral line 3.5; Scale rows below lateral line 4.5; Vertebrae 49-52; Peritoneal spots 0-5. Anterior palatine teeth in a discrete group, longer than posterior palatine teeth; anterior nostril flap long and broad, leaf-like, extending above and behind posterior margin of posterior nostril when laid back; posterior process of pelvic girdle wide; posterior part of preopercle scaled.
Colour	Body above lateral line orangish-brown (orangish or yellowish-brown), below white. Five brown blotches along lateral line connecting to reddish saddle-like blotches edged blueish-white. Blotch above pectoral-fin base indistinct. A row of distinct brown blotches and two rows of white blotches on ventrolateral surface. Head red above maxilla, dark brown (dark brown or yellowish-green) below lower jaw. Snout tip with (with or without) a pair of dark spots. Iris orangish-red (orangish-red or yellowish-orange). All fins with reddish bars, membrane uniformly translucent.
Similar Species
Etymology	The specific name is "derived from its body color, which is reminiscent of shrub and tree colors that change in autumn".
Species Citation	Synodus autumnus Furuhashi & Motomura 2025, ZooKeys 1243: 193, Figs 1-3, 5. Type locality: off Segaura, Kushi, Bonotsu, Minami-satsuma, southwest coast of Satsuma Peninsula, Kagoshima Prefecture, southern Kyushu, Japan, 5 m depth.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2025
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Autumn Lizardfish, Synodus autumnus Furuhashi & Motomura 2025

References

Furuhashi, R. & Motomura, H. 2025. Synodus autumnus, a new species of lizardfish (Aulopiformes, Synodontidae) from the Indo-Pacific region, and a reassessment of distributional records of Synodus rubromarmoratus. ZooKeys 1243: 191-206. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1243.147259