Dotted Sweetlips, Plectorhinchus picus (Cuvier, 1830)

Scientific name: Plectorhinchus picus
Alternative name/s:
Magpie Sweetlips, Painted Sweetlips, Spotted Sweetlips
Dotted Sweetlips, Plectorhinchus picus Click to enlarge image
A Dotted Sweetlips at a depth of 13 m, North Solitary Island, New South Wales, May 1997. Image: Ian Shaw
© Ian Shaw

Fast Facts

  • Classification
    Genus
    Plectorhinchus
    Species
    picus
    Family
    Haemulidae
    Order
    Perciformes
    Class
    Actinopterygii
    Subphylum
    Vertebrata
    Phylum
    Chordata
    Kingdom
    Animalia
  • Size Range
    The species grows to 50 cm in length.

Introduction

The Dotted Sweetlips is white to grey with numerous small black spots on the upper half of the head and body. In Australia it is known from the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland to southern New South Wales.

Identification

The Dotted Sweetlips is white to grey with numerous small black spots on the upper half of the head and body. Juveniles are black above and white below. They have a white snout, a white saddle on the nape and another on the back below the middle of the dorsal fin.

Habitat

The species is found on coral and rocky reefs.

Distribution

It occurs in tropical and some temperate waters of the Indo-West and Central Pacific. In Australia it is known from the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland to southern New South Wales.

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

References

  1. Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
  2. Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
  3. Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
  4. Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.