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Blacktail Grubfish
Parapercis queenslandica Imamura & Yoshino, 2007

A female Blacktail Grubfish at a depth of 12 m, Mantis Reef, Wreck Bay, far northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, December 1999. Photo © E. Schlögl. View larger image.

A male Blacktail Grubfish at a depth of 12 m, Mantis Reef, Wreck Bay, far northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, December 1999. Photo © E. Schlögl. View larger image.

The Blacktail Grubfish can be recognised by the large black blotch on the caudal fin. The body has black spots above and a series of whitish rectangular areas on the sides of the body. There are small black spots in the centre of the white rectangles.

This species grows to 25 cm in length.

Blacktail Grubfish are usually found in shallow water on outer reef slopes and in lagoons. They are commonly seen on sand or rubble.

This species can be found at depths of 2 m to 29 m.

It occurs in tropical marine waters of Queensland, Australia and New Caledonia.

The species has only recently been described as new by Drs H. Imamura and T. Yoshino. It has been previously mistakenly identified as Parapercis hexophtalma. This species occurs in the Indian Ocean.

Further reading

1. Imamura, H. & T. Yoshino. 2007. Three new species of the Genus Parapercis from the Western Pacific, with redescription of Parapercis hexophtalma (Perciformes: Pinguipedidae). Bulletin of the National Museum Natural Sciences. Ser A (1): 81-100.
2. Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 362.
3. Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 415.
4. Randall, J. E. 2001. Pinguipedidae (Parapercidae, Mugiloididae). in Carpenter, K.E. & V.H. Niem (Eds). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 6. Bony Fishes part 4 (Labridae to Latimeriidae), estuarine crocodiles, sea turtles, sea snakes and marine mammals. FAO, Rome. Pp. iii-v, 3381-4218.