The herring cale (''Olisthops cyanomelas'') is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
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 ...
, a
weed whiting from 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 ...
Odacidae
The Odacidae are a small Family (biology), family of ray-finned fishes commonly known as cales and weed whitings, formerly classified within the Order (biology), order Perciformes. They are related to the much larger families of the wrasses and p ...
which is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
where it is found along the southern and southeastern coast. It inhabits the
surf zone
The surf zone or breaker zone is the nearshore part of a body of open water between the line at which the waves break and the shore. As ocean surface waves approach a shore, they interact with the bottom, wave shoaling, get taller and steeper, an ...
, ranging to a depth of in rocky areas with plentiful growth of
brown algae
Brown algae (: alga) are a large group of multicellular algae comprising the class (biology), class Phaeophyceae. They include many seaweeds located in colder waters of the Northern Hemisphere. Brown algae are the major seaweeds of the temperate ...
, which it feeds on. This species grows to a length of
SL.
This species is the only known member of the
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
''Olisthops'',
but it has frequently been placed in ''
Odax
''Odax'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, weed whitings from the family Odacidae which are native to the Pacific waters of New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main ...
'' instead.
[
]
Gallery
File:Herring Cale, Dorset, TAS, Australia imported from iNaturalist photo 170176714 (cropped).jpg, Terminal phase
File:Herring Cale, Manly NSW 2095, Australia imported from iNaturalist photo 372710651 (cropped).jpg, Terminal phase
File:Herring Cale, Manly NSW 2095, Australia imported from iNaturalist photo 372711173 (cropped).jpg, Initial phase
References
Odacidae
Fish described in 1850
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