Bony Fishes

With your help, Redmap will be tracking the following fish around Australia. Some of these fish may be common along your coastline - but have you spotted any that aren't normally found at your local diving, fishing or swimming spots? Redmap is interested in sightings where fish have ventured away from their usual home range. You can sort this list by region and fish species or common name. And just a short note: when we talk about "fish", technically we're talking about "bony fishes" (not sharks and rays which have cartilaginous skeletons!). Bony fishes are the biggest and most diverse group of vertebrate in the world.

Green jobfish

Aprion virescens
Distinctive elongated head with large pointed canine-like teeth and a slender, cylindrical body. Colour varies from dark green to blue-grey…
Coral pigfish

Bodianus axillaris
Adults are red-brown anteriorly diagonally fading into white posteriorly with three large black spots found on the dorsal, anal and base of…
Keyhole angelfish

Centropyge tibicen
Body is black with a vertical white "keyhole shaped" marking behind the head and pectoral fins on both sides.This marking is how the specie…
Threadfin butterflyfish

Chaetodon auriga
Common to most butterflyfish, this fish has a pointed mouth and the body is elongated on the dorsal edge forming a rounded rectangle-like s…
Klein's butterflyfish

Chaetodon kleinii
The body is yellowish brown with two white bars running vertically across the middle. A yellowish-brown bar is present in between the two w…
Blackback butterflyfish

Chaetodon melannotus
The blackback butterflyfish has the characteristically rounded rectangle butterflyfish body shape. Fins are white body with yellow edges. A…
Doublesaddle butterflyfish

Chaetodon ulietensis
The doublesaddle butterflyfish has rounded rectangular body shape with a white body that has a bright yellow rear section. Two large black …
Ballina angelfish

Chaetodontoplus ballinae
This fish is regarded as one of the most rare angelfish. It is a pearly white colour with a distinctive black dorsal surface that extends d…
Queensland yellowtail angelfish

Chaetodontoplus meredithi
Juveniles have a black body and face with vertical white band running along the gills. A yellow bar is present on the top of the head betwe…
Blackspot tuskfish

Choerodon schoenleinii
Blackspot Tuskfish are protogynous hermaphrodites, meaning that they begin life as females and change sex to males once they reach a partic…
Yellowback puller

Chromis nitida
White body with a diagonal black band running from the mouth, crossing the eye and ending at the last ray of the dorsal fin. Above this bla…
Purple flying gurnard

Dactyloptena orientalis
Easily identifiable by the huge pectoral fins which, when outspread, are rounded and spiked. When retracted the pectoral fins sit alongside…
Goldspotted rockcod

Epinephelus coioides
Cream/white body with large adjoining brown spots that form irregular shaped almost vertical bars across body. In between these bars are sm…
Queensland groper

Epinephelus lanceolatus
JUVENILES: Very secretive and rarely spotted. Reside in caves and crevices in shallow waters. Grey body with dark spots and faint black ban…
Potato rockcod

Epinephelus tukula
Large grey-brown body with elongated head and a rounded tail. Large black spots are found on body in 4-5 loosely arranged rows. Smaller spo…
Pearl perch

Glaucosoma scapulare
Large head, mouth and eyes in relation to body size. Silvery body with visible scales that have a pearly sheen and small brown spots. Disti…
Shark mackerel

Grammatorcynus bicarinatus
The shark mackerel has an elongated body that is usually bright, glowing green above and silver on the sides and belly, which has small bla…
Dogtooth tuna

Gymnosarda unicolor
"The dorsal surface is a vivid blue or black with a faint yellow line separating a silver body and underside. A distinctive wavy lateral li…
Stout moray

Gymnothorax eurostus
Irregular shaped yellow to white spots cover a dark brown body. Some individuals also have small black spots. The body colour gets darker f…
Spiny seahorse

Hippocampus histrix
This seahorse is encountered less regularly than most other species and can be easy to misidentify. As with all seahorse species the body s…
White's Seahorse

Hippocampus whitei
White’s Seahorse Hippocampus whitei, is a medium sized seahorse species that is considered endemic to NSW. It’s has a very limited distrib…
Banded rockcod

Hyporthodus ergastularius
Juvenile banded rockcod are brown in colour, with seven broad vertical bars on their body, the last covering most of the caudal peduncle (w…
Thornback cowfish

Lactoria fornasini
A very distinctive fish with a box-shaped body and spines on the head, dorsal and tail areas. Two spines project forward from the brow ridg…
Redthroat emperor

Lethrinus miniatus
A pointed mouth with large lips and no scales on the face. The body is silver to a light brownish range with visible scales that have a dar…
Spangled emperor

Lethrinus nebulosus
Tan, bronze or yellowish brown in colour with the upper portion bearing light blue markings on the scales. These markings roughly join toge…
Mangrove jack

Lutjanus argentimaculatus
Mangrove Jacks are a voracious ambush species that wait in the tangles of mangrove roots or fallen timber for prey to pass. They will rapid…
Fiveline snapper

Lutjanus quinquelineatus
Juveniles have transparent upper body and fins with silver head and belly. Black spot below rear of the dorsal fin is prominent. The eyes a…
Moses' snapper

Lutjanus russellii
Grey-silver to a light brown with a pink tinge. Upper portion of head and back are usually slightly darker than rest of body. An elongated …
Red emperor

Lutjanus sebae
A fish easily identified in the juvenile and young adult stages by the striking markings on its body. Three dark red bands cross the body v…
Diamondscale goatfish

Parupeneus ciliatus
Reddish brown body with lighter coloured barbels (‘whiskers’). Most individuals have two distinct white lines running horizontally above an…
Goldsaddle goatfish

Parupeneus cyclostomus
There are two colour forms of this goatfish. One grey and one bright yellow. Both forms have a bright yellow marking at the rear of the dor…
Sidespot goatfish

Parupeneus pleurostigma
The body is pinkish white with a large oval shaped black spot followed by an often-elongated white spot. In some individuals the spots may …
Blacksaddle goatfish

Parupeneus spilurus
The distinguishing feature on this goatfish species is the large black mark on the upper surface just before the tail. In front of this bla…
Gillblotch leatherjacket

Pervagor janthinosoma
The body can vary in colour, most commonly have a bright blue front fading into a green posterior. Blue frontal area and green rear is com…
Leafy seadragon

Phycodurus eques
The leafy seadragon is greenish to yellowish-brown with many thin dark-edged pale lines or bands across the body. They have large leaf-like…
Common seadragon

Phyllopteryx taeniolatus
These relatives of seahorses have distinctive leaf-like appendages protruding from a few parts of the brown-red body. The body has longitud…
Roundface batfish

Platax teira
Round body profile with two distinct vertical dark bars, one through the eye and one behind the gill cover. Dark blotch below the pectoral …
Northern sand flathead

Platycephalus endrachtensis
Body and head are flattened. Colouration is a pale brown to tan that usually matches the substrate very well. Brown spots adorn the dorsal …
Brown sweetlips

Plectorhinchus gibbosus
JUVENILES: Light brown to a very dark brown with light or dark blotch marks along body. Tail is completely transparent. Dorsal fin is spiny…
Australian sawtail

Prionurus microlepidotus
Grey to light brown in colour. The distinguishing features are the scutes (small bony plates found at the rear of the body near the tail). …
Common lionfish

Pterois volitans
An extremely distinctive fish with very long dorsal and pectoral spines. Bright red all over with whitish 'zebra' stripes and long, broad f…
Bluebarred parrotfish

Scarus ghobban
The bluebarred parrotfish undergoes colouration changes as it grows, matures and changes sex. It transitions through two phases – initial (…
Grey mackerel

Scomberomorus semifasciatus
Streamlined silver body with small scales. The upper surface is generally darker and can be a shade of green and yellow. The lateral line i…
Coral Sea gregory

Stegastes gascoynei
The body is generally brown on the upper surfaces and yellow on the lower areas and towards the head. Anal and pelvic fins are yellow. Tail…
Redspot wrasse

Stethojulis bandanensis
The redspot wrasse changes in colouration as it grows, matures and changes sex. It transitions through two phases – initial (females) and t…
Brokenline wrasse

Stethojulis interrupta
The brokenline wrasse undergoes colouration changes as it grows, matures and changes sex. It transitions through two phases – initial (fema…
Eye-stripe triggerfish

Sufflamen chrysopterum
The body of the triggerfish is oval with a pointed mouth. Eyes are high on the body. The first dorsal fin is very short and resembles a spi…
Jansen's wrasse

Thalassoma jansenii
Unlike many other wrasse species, the colouration of Jansen’s wrasse only undergoes slight changes throughout aging. The body of adults is …
Moon wrasse

Thalassoma lunare
Juveniles have a greenish brown upper body with blue underside. Faint pink and purple irregular bands adorn the face. A black spot is found…
Green moon wrasse

Thalassoma lutescens
This fish undergoes many colouration alterations as it ages and changes sex from female to male. Juveniles have a yellowish brown body. …
Yellowedge coronation trout

Variola louti
This species can be distinguished from other grouper species by the crescent shaped tail. The body is semi-elongated body with the larger l…
Mozambique seabream

Wattsia mossambica
Silver to grey body with yellow tinge on top of head. All fins are yellow, or have a yellowish hue. Fin spines are relatively large and fou…
Hairtail blenny

Xiphasia setifer
This fish has a long eel-like body. The dorsal fin runs the majority of the dorsal surface, beginning from above the eye and ending on the …
Moorish idol

Zanclus cornutus
Distinctively shaped fish with a shield shaped body, pointed mouth and elongated dorsal fin. Colouration is also a distinguishing feature w…

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