The barber perch (''Caesioperca rasor''), also called the barber sea perch, red perch or Tasmanian barber, is endemic to Australia, found from southern
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
to southwestern
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...
, including
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
.
[Barber Perch, ''Caesioperca rasor'' (Richardson, 1839)]
Australian Museum, 19 May 2009.
Description
The barber perch is a laterally compressed, deep-bodied fish growing to a maximum length of . Females and larger juveniles are a pinkish colour with a large black vertical bar on the flank towards the posterior end and a blue streak just under the eye. Smaller juveniles additionally have a black head. Males are similarly marked but their overall hue is silvery or yellowish. They additionally have blue margins to the fins and a small blue spot on each scale.
[
It differs from the closely related Butterfly perch by having a more slender body and males are more blue with a darker bar, rather than blotch, on the side.]
Behaviour
The barber perch is a schooling species of fish which forms dense shoals at depths down to about .piscivore
A piscivore () is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. The name ''piscivore'' is derived . Piscivore is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophage, both of which mean "fish eater". Fish were the diet of early tetrapod evoluti ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:perch, barber
barber perch
Endemic fauna of Australia
Taxa named by John Richardson (naturalist)
barber perch