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.

Scissortail sergeant

Abudefduf sexfasciatus
This fish has five dark vertical bars on pale body and a black streak at top and bottom of its tail fin. Length: Up to 22 cm
Indo-Pacific sergeant

Abudefduf vaigiensis
The Indo-Pacific sergeant has a yellow back and five dark vertical bars on a pale body, but no streaks on tail fin (like Abudefduf sexfasci…
Eastern wirrah

Acanthistius ocellatus
Otherwise known as ‘Old boot’ due to its taste, the eastern wirrah has a greenish-brown body covered in blue centered spots. Count thirteen…
Western wirrah

Acanthistius serratus
The Western wirrah has a pale green-brown body with small spots that merge into lines on the head. They are commonly found in caves in sout…
Western yellowfin bream

Acanthopagrus morrisoni
Yellowfin seabream are a pale grey to whitish colour and have yellowish bellies. They have a dark blotch at the start of their lateral line…
Western blue groper

Achoerodus gouldii
Western blue groper are the largest bony fish on the south coast. They live in small family groups headed by a dominant male. If he disappe…
Eastern blue groper

Achoerodus viridis
A common and well known New South Wales species found from Harvey Bay to Wilsons Promontory, Victoria. Sightings of Blue Gropers have been …
Warty prowfish

Aetapcus maculatus
Curious scorpionfish relatives that are very well-camouflaged amongst sponges. These sedentary fishes regularly shed their skin to prevent …
Pacific bonefish

Albula argentea
Bonefish are a silvery colour with a blackish mark at the front of their face. The caudal fin is deeply forked. Bonefish are an excellent s…
Eastern Clown Anemonefish

Amphiprion percula
The Eastern Clown Anemonefish, known for it’s appearance in Disney’s “Finding Nemo”, is orange with three thick white vertical bars across …
Whitebarred boxfish

Anoplocapros lenticularis
A boxfish with a concave snout and a high arched back. Males and females differ in colour – males are orange with a few white bands on the …
Rusty Jobfish

Aphareus rutilans
The Rusty Jobfish is a large blueish-grey to mauve or red coloured fish found in reefs and rocky bottom areas down to 100m. Rusty Jobfish h…
Rock cale

Aplodactylus lophodon
Species common to New South Wales and south to Victoria. Rare in Tasmania, sightings are limited to the Kent Group islands. Generally the r…
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…
Mado

Atypichthys strigatus
Common to the central New South Wales coast and also found in Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania. Mado are considered common in northern Tas…
Frigate mackerel

Auxis thazard
Migratory species with worldwide distribution, usually associated with warmer waters. Light underside with a pattern of about 15 narrow, ob…
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…
Foxfish

Bodianus frenchii
Wrasse like, bright red to reddish above and white below with prominent yellow blotches on side, prefers deeper areas and occasionally caug…
Giant trevally

Caranx ignobilis
Robust silver body with rounded head profile. Body colour is usually silver fading down to a white underside, but can be almost black on to…
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…
Western butterflyfish

Chaetodon assarius
Beige body with vertical rows of dark spots. The rear of the body has a brown margin with a white trim. Dark spot on the rear of the dorsal…
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…
Meyer's butterflyfish

Chaetodon meyeri
The scrawled butterflyfish has dark black diagonal bands running across its body. It is a whitish or blue-white colour, with a light pelvic…
Lattice Butterflyfish

Chaetodon rafflesii
The Lattice Butterflyfish is a uniformly bright yellow reef fish with a pineapple-like pattern on the sides, a blue forehead with a black v…
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…
Red morwong

Cheilodactylus fuscus
Brownish-red to brownish-pink on the upper half of the head and body, and silvery white below, with pale angled dash-like markings on the r…
Redtail Parrotfish

Chlorurus japanensis
The Red-tailed Parrotfish is widely distributed across the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. Females are a solid dark-brown colour with a dis…
Baldchin groper

Choerodon rubescens
Base colour varies from chocolate brown, to pink/red to pale brown/grey. Distinctive white chin and white pectoral peduncle. Large tusk-lik…
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…
Onespot puller

Chromis hypsilepis
Very common reef species in New South Wales and south to Victoria (Mallacoota) and the Bass Strait islands. This species is a blue grey col…
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…
Snapper

Chrysophrys auratus
No evidence as yet to suggest the species are resident all year round in Tasmania, or that there is any self recruitment within the area. T…
Australian pineapplefish

Cleidopus gloriamaris
Pineapplefish have a distinctly rounded body covered with a mosaic of yellow plate like scales with black lines between them. They are occa…
Comb wrasse

Coris picta
A distinctive wrasse with a broad black comb-like stripe along the sides, a red stripe on top of the head, and a yellow tail. Juveniles up …
Mahi mahi

Coryphaena hippurus
Common to global tropical waters. This is a highly migratory species, not common to southern waters in Australia. This species is very brig…
Barcheek Trevally

Craterognathus plagiotaenia
Barcheek Trevally are a prized gamefish commonly caught on hook-and-line, bottom trawls and by spearfisherman. They are a highly reflective…
Dusky morwong

Dactylophora nigricans
The morwong family have lovely large rubbery lips, are slow moving and often have an elongated or several elongated sections on their pecto…
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…
Blue threadfin

Eleutheronema tetradactylum
Blue threadfin have four short whisker-like pectoral filaments, which are used to tell apart the blue threadfin from the king threadfin. Th…
Hawaiian giant herring

Elops hawaiensis
Body colour is bluish grey on the upper surface of body, middle to lower part of body silver. The body is very elongated and compressed wit…
Old wife

Enoplosus armatus
The body is light and silvery with 6 to 8 vertical black bands of varying length and width. The old wife has poisonous sharp spines in its …
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…
Mosaic leatherjacket

Eubalichthys mosaicus
Generally found within temperate waters and mostly confined to Australia, the leatherjackets are identified by a long spine over the eye an…
Snakeskin wrasse

Eupetrichthys angustipes
This species is found throughout southern mainland Australia including northern New South Wales to south-western Western Australia and the …
Rock blackfish

Girella elevata
Rock blackfish are considered a reef dwelling NSW species that has a range that can extend from southern Queensland to northern and north e…
Luderick

Girella tricuspidata
The Luderick is widespread in eastern Australia from southern Queensland to central South Australia, including northern and north-eastern T…
Zebrafish

Girella zebra
Commonly found in shallow waters and reef environments across the southern coast of mainland Australia from Western Australia, South Austr…
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…
Red velvetfish

Gnathanacanthus goetzeei
Striking scorpionfish relatives that are rarely seen by divers, partly because they are most active at night. Red Velvetfish are extremely …
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…
Green moray

Gymnothorax prasinus
Most common eel in southern waters - this green eel has a yellow brown humped head and green body. Length: Up to 1.5 m
Rainbow cale

Heteroscarus acroptilus
Rainbow cale have a known range from the central coast of New South Wales, around the temperate south of Australia to the central coast of …
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…
Halfbanded seaperch

Hypoplectrodes maccullochi
Known from northern New South Wales to the north and north-east of Tasmania (Bicheno). Sightings have been made at Maria Island. This fish …
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…
Black marlin

Istiompax indica
Body colour is dark black, blue on the upper surface becoming silvery white on the lower surface of the body. Distinguished by lack of cro…
Striped marlin

Kajikia audax
Marlins have the distinctive pointed snout or beak. Look for its dark blue grey back covered in dark stripes, approximately 12 to 16, along…
Silver drummer

Kyphosus sydneyanus
Look for a sleek silver body with a black edged tail and small black spot below the pectoral fin. Length: Up to 90 cm
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…
Barramundi

Lates calcarifer
Adults: Barramundi are an iconic Australian estuarine and freshwater species. Their colour is silver to bronze, with dark brown/black fins…
Sergeant baker

Latropiscis purpurissatus
Female top, male below Sergeant bakers are an inquisitive species often seen swimming in reefs by divers. They have a mottled red colour…
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…
Ornate emperor

Lethrinus ornatus
The ornate emperor has a dusky whitish colour with four to six orange stripes. They have bright red marks near their gills. The heads are …
Tripletail

Lobotes surinamensis
Juveniles: body colour is mottled with yellow, brown and black. Adults are deep brown to black on the upper surface becoming silvery grey …
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…
Crimson Snapper

Lutjanus erythropterus
The Crimson Snapper, also commonly known as the Crimson Seaperch, is a pinky-red to silver fish, often with a light vertical patch behind t…
Golden snapper

Lutjanus johnii
Golden snapper are typically a yellow colour with a bronze/silvery sheen, and a whiter colour on the belly. They have a big black blotch on…
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…
Maori Snapper

Lutjanus rivulatus
Maori Snapper are silvery green-blue with long narrow light blue lines on the face, small light blue spots across the body and tail and yel…
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…
Midnight Snapper

Macolor macularis
Adult Midnight Snapper, also known as a Midnight Seaperch, are a dark fish distinguished from M. niger by their bright yellow-gold iris, ye…
Estuary perch

Macquaria colonorum
Mostly silver, darker grey above, fins are grey except for whitish anal fin. Juveniles are slightly mottled or streaked on sides with dark …
Blue marlin

Makaira nigricans
Body colour is dark black, blue on the upper surface becoming silvery white on the lower surface of the body. Distinguished by a series of …
Footballer sweep

Neatypus obliquus
White with six distinctive brown edged yellow stripes which occur obliquely across the body and yellow fins. Length: Up to 24 cm
Grey morwong

Nemadactylus douglasii
A well known New South Wales coastal reef species present from southern Queensland to Victoria. Adults are considered rare but present in …
Blue morwong

Nemadactylus valenciennesi
The morwong family have lovely large rubbery lips, are slow moving and often have an elongated or several elongated sections on their pecto…
Whiskered prowfish

Neopataecus waterhousii
Rare scorpionfish relatives that are very well-camouflaged to resemble encrusting algae or sponges. Their pink, orange or dark brown skin i…
Crimsonband wrasse

Notolabrus gymnogenis
Rick Stuart-Smith (Male - above), Reef Life Survey) This wrasse is a well known New South Wales coastal reef species that also inhabits …
Herring cale

Olisthops cyanomelas
Herring cale are common from the central coast of Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria, and up the east coast of the mainland to…
Southern Maori Wrasse

Ophthalmolepis lineolatus
Known to inhabit waters from southern Queensland to Victoria and west to central coast of Western Australia. In Tasmania this species is us…
Harlequin fish

Othos dentex
Harlequin fish vary in colour, from orange or brown, to greenish-grey or pinkish above, paler below, with large yellow to green blotches on…
Spotted grubfish

Parapercis ramsayi
The spotted grubfish is pale greyish to brown above, whitish below, with a series of small dark close-set spots forming a line along the up…
Short boarfish

Parazanclistius hutchinsi
A very distinctive boarfish with a very deep body, a high rounded dorsal fin with a concave rear margin, large round pelvic fins, a long al…
Giant boarfish

Paristiopterus labiosus
A large boarfish with a moderately deep, compressed body, exposed striated head bones, a low knob on the nape and a very long concave snout…
White-ear

Parma microlepis
White-ear are common to northern New South Wales and are also present in Victoria and northern Tasmania, usually in the Bass Strait. Juveni…
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…
Paradise threadfin bream

Pentapodus paradiseus
Pointed snout with a small mouth. Juveniles have broad longitudinal stripes along the body that break up into multicoloured lines with grow…
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…
Oblique-banded Sweetlips

Plectorhinchus lineatus
Oblique-banded Sweetlips have a pale grey body with long oblique black bands along the face and back. The fins of this fish are bright yell…
Common Coral Trout

Plectropomus leopardus
Common Coral Trout are a bright red-orange fish with small dense blue spots across the entire body and a light blue right around the eyes. …
Blueface Angelfish

Pomacanthus xanthometopon
The Blueface Angelfish has a distinctive blue mesh-like mask on its face and cheeks with a yellow band across its eye and a blue spot on th…
Tailor

Pomatomus saltatrix
Distributed from northern New South Wales across southern mainland Australia to Western Australia. Tailor are also known in recent years to…
Spine-cheek Clownfish

Premnas biaculeatus
The Spine-cheek Clownfish is a bright red-brown anemonefish with three narrow white-to-grey bands on the head and body and a large rearward…
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). …
Goldband snapper

Pristipomoides multidens
Body colour is yellowish to rosy on the upper surface of the body becoming silvery towards the belly. This species contains two or three di…
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…
Cobia

Rachycentron canadum
Slender fishes with a broad, flattened head without dorsal sucking disk and a protruding lower jaw; long-based dorsal fin preceded by short…
Slender sunfish

Ranzania laevis
Slender sunfish are the smallest member in the family Molidae. Although rarely seen in coastal waters, large shoals occasionally strand the…
Bluebarred parrotfish

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

Scomberomorus commerson
Body colour greenish blue on the upper surface of the body becoming silvery towards the belly. The body is narrow long and elongated and co…
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…
Banded sweep

Scorpis georgiana
Deep bodied with grey to brownish grey above and silver below with two broad dark bands. Length: Up to 46 cm
Yellowtail kingfish

Seriola lalandi
A good catch from northern New South Wales across southern mainland Australia to Western Australia including South Australia. Often caught …
King George Whiting

Sillaginodes punctatus
This species is common along the coast of South Australia. The largest of the whiting family it has a silvery body, and brown spots along i…
Yellowfin whiting

Sillago schomburgkii
The body of the yellow-fin whiting is sandy brown to sandy yellow in colour with yellow ventral fins. The body lacks striping in the adult…
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. …
Yellowfin tuna

Thunnus albacares
Yellowfin tuna have yellow dorsal and anal fins which are scythe shaped in larger adults and no striations on the underside of the liver. D…
Rusty-spotted toadfish

Torquigener pallimaculatus
Dorsal colour pattern of small to moderately large rounded pale spots delineated by rosette of smaller dark spots on greyish-brown backgrou…
Southern roughy

Trachichthys australis
The southern roughy has a rounded body and reddish brown colour. It has white lines and dark markings along the edges of its fins and operc…
Common dart

Trachinotus botla
Body colour is bluish on the upper surface of the body becoming silvery towards the belly. Distinguished by deeply forked caudal fin, elon…
Turrum

Turrum fulvoguttatum
Body colour is blue-green on the upper body becoming silver towards the belly. Body shape is relatively elongated. It contains both golden…
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…

Redmap is funded by

Lead institutes