''Callanthias australis'', the magnificent sea perch, splendid perch, glorious groppo or Northern splendid perch, is a species of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Callanthiidae Callanthiidae, the splendid perches and groppos is a small family of marine ray-finned fishes in the order Spariformes. These fishes are mainly found in the Indo-Pacific but two species are found in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. Taxon ...

. This species is found in the southeastern Indian Ocean and the southwestern Pacific Ocean.

Taxonomy

''Callanthias australis'' was first formally described in 1899 by the Australian

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

James Douglas Ogilby James Douglas Ogilby (16 February 1853 – 11 August 1925) was an Australian ichthyologist and herpetologist. Ogilby was born in Belfast, Ireland, and was the son of zoologist William Ogilby and his wife Adelaide, née Douglas. He received ...

with its type locality given as off

Norah Head Norah Head (originally known as Bungaree's Norah after the early colonial Indigenous explorer named Bungaree), is a headland and a coastal village in the Central Coast Council (New South Wales), Central Coast Council local government area on th ...

north of

Port Jackson Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. This species is closely related to '' C. japonicus'' and '' C. platei'' and these taxa may be subspecies of a single species, ''C. platei'', but given their widely parapatric distributions some authors consider that they are three valid species despite the morphological similarities. The genus ''Callanthias'' is one of two classified in the family Callanthiidae which the 5th edition of ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' is a standard reference for the systematics of fishes. It was first written in 1976 by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011). Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of t ...

'' classifies in the order

Spariformes Spariformes is an order of ray-finned fishes consisting of six families within the series Percomorpha. Taxonomy Spariformes was first used as a taxonomic term in 1860 by the Dutch physician, herpetologist and ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker. Trad ...

Etymology

''Callanthias australis'' has the

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''australis'' which means "southern", this species was described by Ogliby as a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of ''C. platei''.

Description

''Callanthias australis'' has a continuous

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

which is supported by 11 spines and between 10 and 12 soft rays while the

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

has 3 spines and 10 or 11 soft rays. It has a moderately elongated body with a small, oblique mouth. The shape of the

caudal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

varies from emarginate to almost truncate with larger individuals developing long filaments from the tip of each lobe. The colour of juveniles is light pink with light blue fins. The females are pale red to orangey-red with silvery on the lower face and throat and pale fins. The males have a purplish red head and front of the body with the rear body being red. The dorsal and anal fins are brown while the caudal fin is bluish purple with red tips and a yellow centre. This species has a maximum published

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is ...

of .

Distribution and habitat

''Callanthias australis'' is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean and into the southeastern Indian Ocean. In Australia this species is found from

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

south and west to

Rottnest Island Rottnest Island (), often colloquially referred to as "Rotto", is a Islands of Perth, Western Australia, island off the coast of Western Australia, located west of Fremantle. A sandy, low-lying island formed on a base of aeolianite limestone, ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, it is also found off

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...

in the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...

. In New Zealand it is found to the north of the range of '' C. allporti'' being found from the

Kermadec Islands The Kermadec Islands ( ; ) are a subtropical island arc in the South Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand's North Island, and a similar distance southwest of Tonga. The islands are part of New Zealand. They are in total area and uninhabit ...

south to

Castlepoint Castlepoint is a small beachside settlement on the Wairarapa coast of the Wellington Region of New Zealand. It is home to a lighthouse which stands near the top of the northern end of a reef. The reef is about one kilometre long. At the southe ...

and Westport in the northern

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

. In New Zealand this species has the common name of Northern splendid perch while ''C. australis'' is the Southern Splendid perch. The magnificent sea perch is found at depths of between on deep reefs and rocky pinnacles, although juveniles are found in water as shallow of in inshore waters.

Biology

''Callanthias australis'' feeds on

zooplankton Zooplankton are the heterotrophic component of the planktonic community (the " zoo-" prefix comes from ), having to consume other organisms to thrive. Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents. Consequent ...

, particularly

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

s. It is a diurnal species which shelters in caves and crevices at nights and flees to these as sanctuaries when disturbed. It is a

schooling A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of fo ...

species which forms mixed species schools with the anthiin serranids, the butterfly perch (''Caesioperca lepidoptera'') and pink maomao (''Caprodon longimanus''). The colour of the males become more intense during the breeding season. Spawning schools are formed between August and November when a small number of males will raise their dorsala nd anal fins and circle around 1 or 2 females before they all swim up the water column and release the sperm and eggs before descending.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2550593, from2=Q106477076, from3=Q2658656 australis Fish of the Indian Ocean Fish of the Pacific Ocean Fish described in 1899 Taxa named by James Douglas Ogilby