Fishes - Australian Museum Fish Site

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Purple Anthias
Pseudanthias tuka (Herre & Montalban, 1927)

Purple Anthias
A male Purple Anthias at a depth of 15m, Tijou Reef, far northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, December 1999. View larger image.

The colouration of the Purple Anthias differs between the sexes. Both males and females are deep pink to purple, however females have a bright yellow stripe on the back that extends onto the caudal fin. Males have a purple blotch on the base of the soft dorsal fin and elongated soft dorsal fin rays.

This species grows to 12cm in length.

The Purple Anthias is usually seen in large aggregations along the upper edge of drop-offs and steep outer reef slopes. This fish is usually seen at depths of 7m to 25m.

It occurs in tropical marine waters of South-east Asia, from the Philippines to Australia and east to Fiji and the Society Islands.

In Australia the Purple Anthias is known from the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland.

View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.

Further reading

  1. Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
  2. Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
  3. Myers, R.F. 1999. Micronesian Reef Fishes. Coral Graphics. Pp. 330.
  4. Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
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