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Barred Soapfish
Diploprion bifasciatum Kuhl & Hasselt, 1828
A Barred Soapfish at a depth of 3 m, the Gravel Loader, Bass Point, Shellharbour, New South Wales, July 2005. Photo © S. Schulz. View larger image.
A Barred Soapfish caught on hook and line at a depth of 10 m, "The Pumpkin Passage", off North Keppel Island, Queensland, October 2005. Photo © L. & W. Gathercole. View larger image.
The Barred Soapfish has a moderately deep body that is mostly covered with small ctenoid scales. There is a deep notch between the spinous and soft-rayed portions of the dorsal fin. The pelvic fins are long, reaching beyond the spinous portion of the anal fin.
The species is pale to bright yellow with a black bar on the head and a wide black bar on the body.
It grows to about 25 cm in length.
The Barred Soapfish is a benthic species that occurs primarily in tropical inshore and coral reef waters of the Western Pacific.
In Australia is known from south-western Western Australia, around the tropical north of the country and south to the central coast of New South Wales.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
This species has also been called the Two-banded Soapfish and Yellow Emperor.
Related links
- larval Barred Soapfish
- View the Family Grammistidae list
- View the Soapfishes list
Further reading
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. 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.
