Animal Species:Red Little Gurnard Perch, Maxillicosta raoulensis (Eschmeyer and Poss, 1976)

As its common name suggests, the Red Little Gurnard Perch is a small species of scorpionfish that unlike other species of Maxillicosta, has a red body.

Red Little Gurnard Perch trawled near Balls Pyramid

Red Little Gurnard Perch trawled near Balls Pyramid
Kerryn Parkinson © Australian Museum

Identification

Fresh Red Little Gurnard Perch specimens have reddish bodies with yellowish pectoral and pelvic fins. Other members of the genus Maxillicosta, have whitish bodies with brownish or blackish blotches and whitish pectoral and pelvic fins.

M. raoulensis can also be distinguished from other Australian species of Maxillicosta by having 25-27pectoral fin rays (versus 20-23) and 14-17 gill rakers (versus 10-13).

Size range

The species grows to approximately 13 cm.

Distribution

The Red Little Gurnard Perch is common in New Zealand, especially the Kermadec Islands. Four specimens were recently recorded from Australian waters (off New South Wales and the Lord Howe Rise). The Red Little Gurnard Perch is probably widely distributed on the oceanic ridges of the south-western Pacific Ocean.

The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums.  Source: Atlas of Living Australia.

Maxillicosta raoulensis

Distribution by collection data

Ozcam map of Red Little Gurnard Perch in the Australian Museums.

What does this mean?

Classification

Species:
raoulensis
Genus:
Maxillicosta
Family:
Neosebastidae
Order:
Scorpaeniformes
Class:
Actinopterygii
Subphylum:
Vertebrata
Phylum:
Chordata
Kingdom:
Animalia

What does this mean?

References

  1. Eschmeyer, W.N. and S.G. Poss. 1976. Review of the scorpionfish genus Maxillicosta (Pisces: Scorpaenidae), with a description of three new species from the Australian-New Zealand region. Bulletin of Marine Science. 26(4): 433-449.
  2. Motomura, H., Last, P.R. & W.T. White. 2005. First records of a scorpionfish, Maxillicosta raoulensis (Scorpaeniformes: Neosebastidae), from the Tasman Sea, with fresh colour notes for the species. Biogeography, 7: 85-90.


Mark McGrouther , Collection Manager, Ichthyology
Hiroyuki Motomura
Last Updated:

Tags fishes, ichthyology, Maxillicosta raoulensis, Red Little Gurnard Perch, Neosebastidae, red, white, black, yellow, 'normal fish', 10 cm - 30 cm, blotches, pelagic, marine, adult,