Fishes - Australian Museum Fish Site

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Little Gurnard Perch
Maxillicosta scabriceps Whitley, 1935

Family
Neosebastidae
Size
12 cm
Distribution
Endemic: Victoria to central Western Australia, including northern Tasmania
Depth
2 m - 45 m
Little Gurnard Perch
A 51 mm SL Little Gurnard Perch caught in a box trawl in shallow seagrass at Dunsborough, Geographe Bay, Western Australia, Dec. 1982 (WAM-P 27879-003). Photo © B. Hutchins. View larger image.
Little Gurnard Perch - head
Photo: B. Hutchins . View larger image.

When alive, the Little Gurnard Perch has a mottled brownish body.  There is a large black blotch on dorsal fin membrane between the fifth and ninth spines in both males and females. The colour pattern is similar to that of Whitley's Gurnard Perch and Southern Gurnard Perch.

The species can be distinguished from other Australian species of Maxillicosta by the combination of two characters. The scales above the lateral line behind the head lack a strong median ridge or a serrated ridge. The nasal spine has 2 or 3 small points.

The Little Gurnard Perch is common in southern Australian inshore waters, usually in seagrass beds, rubbly areas or on sandy substrates. Individuals bury completely in the sand during the day, but emerge at night.

Although several specimens, collected from central Western Australia, have been identified as M. scabriceps, they may represent a new species and M. scabriceps may only occur between Victoria and southeastern Western Australia.

View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.

Related links

Further reading

  1. Eschmeyer, W.N. and S.G. Poss. 1976. Review of the scorpionfish genus Maxillicosta (Pisces: Scorpaenidae), with a description of three new species from the Australian-New Zealand region. Bulletin of Marine Science. 26(4): 433-449.
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