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Southern Whiptail Coelorinchus australis (Richardson, 1893)
[CAAB 37 232001]

Distribution Map see an interactive map here (new window)

Distribution, ecology and habitat:

Indo-Pacific, endemic to temperate Australian waters; benthopelagic on continental shelf and upper slope at 80-900 m, most often at 80-300 m; one of the shallowest-dwelling macrourids.

Size:

To 55 cm TL.

Food and feeding:

Prey includes octopus, fishes and decapod crustaceans.

Reproduction and early life history:

Characteristics:

D II, 9-11; P 14-19; V 7; GR 7-9; PC 31-34.
Snout short, bluntly pointed, tipped with small blunt tubercle, fully scaled behind leading edge, antero-lateral margin incompletely supported by bone; eye large, longer that snout and postorbital length; mouth inferior, cleft extending to about midorbit, underside of head scaled, jaw teeth small, in bands; chin barbel short, thick, well developed; gill rakers on first arch tubercular, absent from outer face. Second spine of first dorsal fin smooth, pectoral fin base below first dorsal fin, pelvic fins inserted behind first dorsal and pectoral fins. Body scales with up to 20 parallel rows of small spinules. Naked fossa of light organ large, just before anus, elongate to ovoid, extending forward from anus midway to pelvic-fin bases.

Colour:

Greenish grey dorsally; creamy white ventrally, scattered pale spots dorsally on head; 8-10 narrow dark longitudinal stripes dorsolaterally, distal half of first dorsal fin with black, anal fin blackish posteriorly with dusky to blackish distal margin; mouth and gill cavity black, lips and barbel pale.

Similar species:

Fisheries:

Commonly trawled as bycatch off NSW and Tasmania to 300 m, but of no commercial importance despite large size.

Conservation Status:

Remarks:

Other common names:

Javelin, Rugose Whiptail.

Original citation:

Lepidoleprus australis Richardson, 1839, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 7: 100, Port Arthur, Tasmania (as Van Diemen's Land).

Etymology:

References:

Iwamoto, T. 1990. Family Macrouridae, pp. 90-318 In Cohen, D. M., T. Inada, T. Iwamoto & N. Scialabba (eds.) FAO Species Catalogue. Gadiform fishes of the world (order Gadiformes). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of cods, hakes, grenadiers and other gadiforms fishes known to date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125, Rome: FAO Vol. 10, 442 pp.

Iwamoto, T. & Graham, K.J. 2001. Grenadiers (Families Bathygadidae and Macrouridae, Gadiformes, Pisces) of New South Wales, Australia. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 52(21): 407-509, figs. 1-114.