The ocellate soapfish (''Grammistops ocellatus'') is a species of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...

with a wide Indo-Pacific distribution. It is the only species in the genus ''Grammistops''. It is also known as the ocellated soapfish, ocellated podge, or false-eyed soapfish. The specific name ''ocellatus'' refers to the ocellate (eye-like) spot on the operculum (gill covering).

Taxonomy

''Grammistops ocellatus'' was first formally described in 1953 by the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

ichthyologist

Leonard Peter Schultz Leonard Peter Schultz (1901–1986) was an American ichthyologist. Biography Schultz was born in 1901, at Albion, Michigan. He received education on ichthyology at Albion College, in which he got his bachelor's degree, in 1924. In 1926, he got ...

(1901–1986) with the type locality given as the Lagoon at Arji Island,

Bikini Atoll Bikini Atoll ( or ; Marshallese: , , meaning "coconut place"), sometimes known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 1800s and 1946 is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a central lagoon. After the Seco ...

in the

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. It is related to the

grouper Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes. Not all serranids are called "groupers"; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name "grouper" is ...

s, and like them this species is classified within the subfamily

Epinephelinae Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes. Not all serranids are called "groupers"; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name "grouper" is ...

of the

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Serranidae The Serranidae are a large family of fishes belonging to the order Perciformes. The family contains about 450 species in 65 genera, including the sea basses and the groupers (subfamily Epinephelinae). Although many species are small, in some ca ...

. It is often considered part of a separate subfamily, Grammistinae (the soapfishes). , it is the only species in the genus ''Grammistops''.

Description

The ocellate soapfish has a body which is moderately elongate with a depth which is less than the length of the head. The body is dull yellowish-brown body and it has similarly coloured fins with a single dark, ocellate (eye-like) spot on the gill cover and a dark brown spot on either side of the chin. The

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...

contains 7 spines and 12–13 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 9 soft rays. It attains a maximum total length of . The preopercle has a smooth margin with 1 or 2 short spines and the

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

is rounded.

Distribution

''Grammistops ocellatus'' has a disjunct Indo-Pacific distribution. It is found in the Indian Ocean off the coast of East Africa from Kenya south to Mozambique and

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in Thailand and

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. In the Pacific Ocean it is found from eastern Indonesia east to the

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, north to the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yona ...

of southern Japan and south as far as Australia, New Caledonia and Tonga.

Habitat and biology

The ocellate soapfish is found on coral heads in lagoons and seaward reefs at depths of . It is a cryptic species which is encountered either solitarily or as pairs. Like other species named "soapfish" this species secretes a skin toxin from epidermal glandular cells when stressed.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3541245 Grammistini Fish described in 1953