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Purple Rockcod
Epinephelus cyanopodus (Richardson, 1846)
Above and below: A Purple Rockcod at a depth of 12 m, Fly Point Marine Reserve, Port Stephens, New South Wales, December 2004. Photo: D. & L. Atkinson. View larger image.
The Purple Rockcod can be recognised by its light blue-grey body, which is covered with fine black spots.
This species is usually seen in lagoons and on coastal reefs around coral or rock outcrops. It lives in waters of 2 m to 150 m in depth.
The Purple Rockcod grows to 1 m in length.
It occurs in tropical and subtropical marine waters throughout the Western Pacific.
In Australia it is known from the offshore reefs of north-western Western Australia and far northern Queensland 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 Blue Maori or Blue Maori Cod.
Related links
- Eastern Wirrah fact sheet
- Flowery Cod fact sheet
- Scribbled Rockcod fact sheet
- View the Rockcods, Basslets, Coral Cods, Coral Trouts and Groupers list
- View low res movie clip - wmv (60k), Quicktime (124k)
- View high res movie clips on the movies page
Further reading
- Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-Eastern Australia. Crawford House Press. Pp. 437.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- Paxton, J.R., D.F. Hoese, G.R. Allen & J.E. Hanley. 1989. Zoological Catalogue of Australia Vol. 7 Pisces Petromyzontidae to Carangidae. Canberra: Australian Biological Resources Survey. Pp. i-xii, 1-665.
