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Perciformes/Scorpaenoidei (Scorpionfishes) >
Neosebastidae (Gurnard scorpionfishes)
Etymology: Neosebastes: Greek, neos = new + Greek, sebastes = august, venerable (Ref. 45335); occidentalis: Name from the Latin 'occidentalis' meaning west, referring to the distribution of the species being the westernmost in the genus.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; demersal; depth range 100 - 185 m (Ref. 54394). Tropical; 20°S - 30°S (Ref. 54394)
Eastern Indian Ocean: Off the central western coast of Western Australia.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 18.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 54394)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 8; Dorsal soft rays (total): 8; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 5. Diagnosis: Underside of mandible with numerous tiny pores, no ridges. Preocular spine usually divided into 2 points, and flattened anteriorly and posteriorly. There are no additional spines between lacrimal and suborbital ridges; upper opercular spine usually divided into 2-4 points; midinterorbital space extremely deep, usually not covered with scales; interorbital ridge distinct. Pored lateral-line scales 32-36 (mode 33); longitudinal scale rows 50-56 (55). Pectoral-fin rays 18-21 (21); pectoral fin long (2.4-3.0, mean 2.7 in SL), reaching or extending beyond a vertical at origin of last dorsal-fin spine. First anal-fin spine 1.5-1.7 (1.6) in third spine. Posterior margin of maxilla not reaching a vertical at posterior margin of pupil. Interorbital width wide (5.7-7.5, 6.8 in HL). Bilobed portion of swimbladder less than half of total swimbladder length; head and body whitish in preservative specimens. Body, head, and pelvic and anal fins nearly white or yellowish when fresh; no distinct small black spots on head or lateral line (Ref. 54394).
Found on the continental shelf (Ref. 75154). Most specimens taken in trawls have sand grains inside the mouth indicating occurrence on open, predominantly sandy substrata (Ref. 54394).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Motomura, H., 2003. Revision of the scorpionfish genus Neosebastes (Scorpaeniformes: Neosebastidae), with descriptions of five new species. Indo-Pac. Fish. (37):46 p. (Ref. 54394)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 19.2 - 22.7, mean 20.1 °C (based on 7 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5002 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01995 (0.00906 - 0.04395), b=3.01 (2.83 - 3.19), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.6 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (12 of 100).
