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Coronation Cod
Variola louti (Forsskål, 1775)
Above and below: A Coronation Cod at a depth of 22 m, "Temple of Doom", Ribbon Reefs north of Port Douglas, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, December 2000. Photo © E. Schlögl. View larger image.
A juvenile Coronation Cod at a depth of 17 m, Ribbon Reef #3, Great Barrier Reef off Cooktown, Queensland, June 2002. Photo © E. Schlögl. View larger image.
The Coronation Cod is a moderately elongate, compressed fish. It has small, mostly ctenoid scales on the body and cycloid scales on the head. The dorsal and anal fins have pointed posterior tips.
The species is reddish above, often shading to orangish to white on the belly. There are numerous small bluish or pinkish spots on the head, body and fins. The posterior margins of the fins are yellow.
Coronation Cod grow to 80 cm in length.
The species occurs in tropical marine waters of the Indo-Pacific from close to the surface to over 100 m in depth.
In Australia it is known from central and north-western Western Australia and from the northern Great Barrier Reef to the central coast of New South Wales.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
The Coronation Cod is also known as the Lyre-tail Cod and Lyretail Grouper.
Further reading
- Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
