Magpie perch
The magpie perch (Cheilodactylus nigripes), magpie morwong or black-striped morwong, is a morwong, found off southern Australia and northern New Zealand from shallow depths to 250 m. Although traditionally included in the genus Cheilodactylus in family Cheilodactylidae, based on genetic and morpological analyses it belongs in its own genus Pseudogoniistius in family Latridae.[1][2]
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| Species: | C. nigripes |
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| Cheilodactylus nigripes J. Richardson, 1850 | |
Its adult length is between 30 and 50 cm. The species' range in Australian waters extends from Albany in Western Australia to Kiama in New South Wales, including South Australian, Victorian and Tasmanian waters.[3] It lives on rocky reefs, where it feeds upon mollusks, polychaetes and algae.[4] The magpie morwong is able to change its appearance by "turning off" its central black band almost instantly.[3]
References
- Ludt, W.B., Burridge, C.P. & Chakrabarty, P. (2019). A taxonomic revision of Cheilodactylidae and Latridae (Centrarchiformes: Cirrhitoidei) using morphological and genomic characters. Zootaxa 585(1). doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4585.1.7
- Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Pseudogoniistius". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
- "Magpie Perch, Cheilodactylus nigripes, Richardson, 1850 – Australian Museum". australianmuseum.net.au. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
- "Cheilodactylus nigripes : Magpie Perch". bie.ala.org.au. Atlas of Living Australia. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
- Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2006). "Cheilodactylus nigripes" in FishBase. January 2006 version.
- Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8