Chinamanfish, Symphorus nematophorus (Bleeker 1860)


Other Names: Chinaman Fish, Chinaman Snapper, Chinaman-fish, Galloper, Thread-finned Sea Perch, Thread-finned Sea-perch

A juvenile Chinamanfish, Symphorus nematophorus, at Naha, Okinawa, Japan. Source: Peter Rask Møller / Fishbase. License: CC BY Attribution-Noncommercial

Summary:
A large greyish-brown to reddish tropical snapper with a steep snout profile, high dorsal and anal fins, at least one filamentous dorsal-fin ray, and often with broad irregular pale and dark bars on the sides. Juveniles are pale orange to brownish, with irregular bluish stripes and markings on the head and sides, and several long filamentous dorsal-fin rays.

Chinamanfish reportedly cause ciguatera poisoning.

Cite this page as:
Dianne J. Bray, Symphorus nematophorus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/579

Chinamanfish, Symphorus nematophorus (Bleeker 1860)

More Info


Distribution

Recorded in Australia from Shark Bay, Western Australia, to Moreton Bay, Queensland, and also Scott Reef, Western Australia. Elsewhere, widespread in the tropical, west Pacific. Inhabits coastal reefs to a depth of about 50 m.

Species Citation

Mesoprion nematophorus Bleeker, 1860, Acta Societ. Scient. Indo-Neerland. 8: 56. Type locality: Badjoa, Sulawesi (as Celebes), Indonesia.

Author

Dianne J. Bray

Chinamanfish, Symphorus nematophorus (Bleeker 1860)

References


Allen, G.R. 1985. FAO Species Catalogue. Snappers of the World. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of lutjanid species known to date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125, Vol. 6. Rome : FAO 208 pp.

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.

Anderson, W.D. & Allen, G.R. 2001. Lutjanidae. pp. 2840-2918 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 5 2791-3379 pp.

Bleeker, P. 1860. Dertiende bijdrage tot de kennis der vischfauna van Celebes. Visschen van Bonthain, Badjoa, Sindjai, Lagoesi en Pompenoea. Acta Societatis Scientiarum Indo-Neerlandicae 8: 1-60.

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.

Grant, E.M. 1975. Guide to Fishes. Brisbane : Queensland Government, Co-ordinator General’s Department 640 pp.

Grant, E.M. 1991. Fishes of Australia. Brisbane : EM Grant Pty Ltd 480 pp.

Halstead, B.W., P.S. Auerbach & D.R. Campbell. 1990. A colour atlas of dangerous marine animals. Wolfe Medical Publications Ltd, W.S. Cowell Ltd, Ipswich, England. 192 pp.

Hutchins, J.B. 2001. Biodiversity of shallow reef fish assemblages in Western Australia using a rapid censusing technique. Records of the Western Australian Museum 20: 247-270.

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. 1992. Tropical Reef-Fishes of the Western Pacific, Indonesia and Adjacent Waters. Jakarta : PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama 314 pp. pls.

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.

Kuiter R.W. & Tonozuka, T. 2001. Indonesian Reef Fishes. Part 3. Melbourne : Zoonetics pp. 623–893.

Leis, J.M. & Bray, D.J. 1995. Larval development in the lutjanid subfamily Paradicichthyinae (Pisces): the genera Symphorus and Symphorichthys. Bulletin of Marine Science 56(2): 418-433.

Marshall, T.C. 1964. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coastal Waters of Queensland. Sydney : Angus & Robertson 566 pp. 136 pls.

Randall, J.E., 2005. Reef and shore fishes of the South Pacific. New Caledonia to Tahiti and the Pitcairn Islands. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 720 p.

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.

Roughley, T.C. 1957. Fish and Fisheries of Australia. Sydney : Angus & Robertson 341 pp.

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.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37346017

Danger:May cause ciguatera poisoning

Depth:1-50 m

Fishing:Commercial and sports fish

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:80 cm TL

Species Image Gallery

Species Maps

CAAB distribution map