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Tasmanian Clingfish
Aspasmogaster tasmaniensis (Günther, 1861)
Above and below: A Tasmanian Clingfish at a depth of 7m, Rapid Bay Jetty, South Australia, March 2004. View larger image.
The Tasmanian Clingfish can be recognised by its banded colour pattern. The bands can be brownish, green, pink, red or orange. There is sometimes a stripe through the eye and across the operculum.
This species has a depressed head and a compressed caudal peduncle. It has a short based dorsal fin close to the tail. The pelvic fins are fused into a sucker. There are no scales or lateral line.
It grows to 8 cm in length.
The Tasmanian Clingfish is common on shallow coastal rocky reefs and intertidal areas. It is also seen by divers under wharves.
This species is endemic to Australia. It occurs in marine waters of eastern Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and south-western Western Australia.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Related links
Further reading
- Hutchins, J.B. in Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. State Print, Adelaide. Pp. 992.
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Hutchins, J.B. 1984. Description of a new gobiesocid fish from south-western Australia, with a key to the species of Aspasmogaster. Records of the Western Australian Museum 11(2): 129-140.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
- Last, P.R., E.O.G. Scott & F.H. Talbot. 1983. Fishes of Tasmania. Tasmanian Fisheries Development Authority. Pp. 563.
