Find a Fish
Cockatoo Waspfish
Ablabys taenianotus (Cuvier, 1829)
A Cockatoo Waspfish at a depth of 10 m, South Wall near effluent pipe, Gold Coast Seaway, March 2005 Photo © I. Banks. View larger image.
A Cockatoo Waspfish at a depth of 10 m, South Wall near effluent pipe, Gold Coast Seaway, August 2003. Photo © I. Banks. View larger image.
A 5 cm long Cockatoo Waspfish at Camp Cove, New South Wales. Photo © Á. Lumnitzer. View larger image.
The Cockatoo Waspfish can be recognised by its long sail-like dorsal fin which originates above the eyes.
The fish is usually brown with a distinct white stripe along the leading edge of the dorsal fin and down the snout to the upper jaw. Adults may have a scribbled pattern of dark lines and blotches on the dorsal fin.
The Cockatoo Waspfish grows to 15 cm in length.
It is a benthic species that is found on coral reefs and in sheltered estuaries
and bays down to depths of about 20 m.
This species occurs in tropical and some temperate waters of the Eastern Indian and Western Pacific Oceans.
In Australia it is known from the central coast of Western Australia, around the tropical north of the country and south to the New South Wales central coast.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
The Cockatoo Waspfish has also been called the Cockatoo Fish and Leaf Fish.
Related links
- View the Scorpionfishes list
Further Reading
- Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-Eastern Australia. Crawford House Press. Pp. 437.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
