Find a Fish
Peacock Rockcod
Cephalopholis argus Bloch & Schneider, 1801
A Peacock Rockcod at a depth of 14m, "The Cod Hole", Great Barrier Reef off Lizard Island, Queensland, June 2002. Note the Striped Cleaner Wrasse (view fact sheet) on the Peacock Rockcod's tail. View larger image.
A Peacock Rockcod at a depth of 14m, North Solitary Island, New South Wales, June 2002. View larger image.
The Peacock Rockcod is brown to greenish. It has numerous small dark-margined blue spots on the head, body and fins. There is a pale area in front of the pectoral fins and sometimes five or six pale bars on the rear of the body.
This species grows to 45cm in length.
It may be responsible for some cases of ciguatera poisoning (view the eMedicine page on ciguatera fish poisoning).
The Peacock Rockcod occurs in tropical marine waters of the Indo-Pacific.
In Australia it is known from the central coast of Western Australia, around the tropical north and south to the central Queensland coast and reefs.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Further reading
- Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
- Allen, G.R. & R. Swainston. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 201.
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
