Fishes - Australian Museum Fish Site

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Thetis Fish
Neosebastes thetidis (Waite, 1899)

Family
Neosebastidae
Size
32 cm
Distribution
Endemic: southern New South Wales to southern Western Australia, including Tasmania
Depth
80 m - 280 m
Thetis Fish
A 191 mm SL Thetis Fish caught at a depth of 120 m, off Bermagui, New South Wales. (CSIRO H.4253-01). Photo © CSIRO Marine Research. View larger image.
Thetis Fish - caudal fins
Ontogenetic change in caudal fin pigmentation, based on preserved specimens. Left side: specimen less than 10 cm SL. Right side: specimen larger than 16 cm SL. Illustration © H. Motomura. View larger image.
Thetis Fish - eye
A line drawing showing the suborbital scales (SS) extending onto the lower margin of the eye membrane (EM). Illustration © H. Motomura. View larger image.

The Thetis Fish has a relatively short snout and deep body. The body is yellowish, usually with five large poorly-defined blackish blotches. Pigmentation pattern on the caudal fin changes with growth. The caudal fins of young individuals have two narrow vertical black bands distally. Older fish have a single broad vertical band on the fin.

The suborbital scales of this species extend onto the lower margin of the eye membrane. This character is not found in any other species of Neosebastes.

The Thetis Fish is relatively common. It has the largest distributional range of any Neosebastes species.

The species was described by Australian Museum Fish Curator, Edgar Ravenswood Waite in 1899.

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

Related links

Further reading

  1. Motomura, H. 2004. Revision of the scorpionfish genus Neosebastes (Scorpaeniformes: Neosebastidae), with descriptions of five new species. Indo-Pacific Fishes. 37: 1-76, pl. 1-2.
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