Find a Fish
A larval basslet
Liopropoma sp
A 22 mm long (TL) Basslet caught approximately 30 kilometres west of Rottnest Island, Western Australia, June 2005. The second and third dorsal fin spines were tangled around a line that was being retrieved from deep water. Photo © B. Hutchins (WAM). View larger image.
A larval Basslet drawn based on a combination of images and specimens. Figure © S. Bullock. View larger image.
Fishes in the genus Liopropoma are generally very secretive, living in caves or crevices in coral reefs. They are generally small fishes that grow to less than 10 cm in length.
Three species of Liopropoma occur in Australian waters. These are the Headband Perch, L. mitratum, Yellow Reef Basslet, L. multilineatum and Pinstripe Reef Basslet, L. susumi.
Larval Liopropoma have extremely long ornate second and third dorsal fin spines. These spines have balloon-like structures which are held above the fish. The Smithsonian’s ‘Expedition to Galapagos’ website states that “We don’t know the precise function of these structures, but they look very much like a type of colonial jellyfish known as a siphonophore. Perhaps they look enough like them to deter certain potential predators.” Baldwin et al (1991) state that “The elongate filaments could play a role in energy storage by providing space for the assimilation of excess food; however, long, trailing filaments seem an unlikely place for energy storage because they probably are quite vulnerable to predation. In fact, pigmented swellings or other variations in the shape of the filaments could attract predators, distracting them from the body of the larva. The elongate filaments also might function in predator deception by increasing the apparent size of the lava.”
View a map of the collecting localities of Liopropoma specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Related links
- View a larval Cave Bass on the Smithsonian Expedition to Galapagos page
- View the Rockcods, Basslets, Coral Cods, Coral Trouts and Groupers list
Further reading
- Baldwin , C. C, Johnson, G. D. and P. L. Colin. 1991. Larvae of Diploprion bifasciatum, Belonoperca chabanaudi and Grammistes sexlineatus (Serranidae: Epinephelinae) with a comparison of known larvae of other epinephelines. Bulletin of Marine Science 48: 67-93.
- Leis, J.M. and B.M. Carson-Ewart. (editors). 2000. The larvae of Indo-Pacific coastal fishes. An identification guide to marine fish larvae. (Fauna Malesiana Handbooks 2). E.J. Brill, Leiden. Pp. 870.
