Fishes - Australian Museum Fish Site

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Sidespot Goatfish
Parupeneus pleurostigma (Bennett, 1831)

Sidespot Goatfish
A Sidespot Goatfish at a depth of 12m, Ribbon Reef #10, Great Barrier Reef off Lizard Island, December 2001. View larger image.

The Sidespot Goatfish has a pale white-pink body. It has a large black spot on the side followed by a white spot. The base of the second dorsal fin is dark.

This species grows to 35cm in length.

Sidespot Goatfish inhabit seagrass beds, shallow lagoons and seaward reefs. They are commonly seen over sand, rubble, coral or rocky bottoms.

This fish can be found at depths of 1m to 70m.

It feeds on a range of benthic animals including fishes, crabs, mantis shrimps, polychaete worms, heart urchins, brittle stars, and molluscs.

The Sidespot Goatfish occurs in tropical marine waters of the Indo-Pacific, from East Africa, north to the Japan, south to Australia and east to the Tuamoto Islands.

In Australia the Sidespot Goatfish is known from the north-western coast of Western Australia, and from the northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland to southern New South Wales.

Further reading

  1. Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 220.
  2. Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 362.
  3. Myers, R.F. 1999. Micronesian Reef Fishes. Coral Graphics. Pp. 222.
  4. Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 415.
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