PORT PHILLIP BAY


Adelaide Weedfish 

Heteroclinus adelaidae Castelnau, 1872

View scientific description and taxonomy

Scientific Details

Meristics.
Dorsal fin spines/rays: III, XXVIII-XXXIII, 2-4
Anal fin spines/rays: II, 21-25
Caudal fin rays: (segmented) 11
Pectoral fin rays: 10-13
Ventral fin spines/rays: I, 2
Lateral line: (arched) 18-27 + (straight) 0-8
Gill rakers: 1-2 + 5-7 = 6-10

Interpreting fin count meristics.
Spines are in Roman numerals and soft rays are in Arabic numerals. Spines and rays that are continuous in one fin are separated by a comma. Fin sections are separated by semicolons.

Detailed descriptions of fin count and other meristics are in:
Gomon. M.F., Bray, D.J. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds) (2008) Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Sydney : Reed New Holland 928 pp.

Order level detail.
A Large and highly diverse group of modern bony fishes many of which have a generalized perch like body form. Most have pelvic fins with one spine and 5 rays and the maxillary bone is excluded from the gape of the mouth. Interrelationships of the group are poorly understood and continue to be studied. They inhabit almost all aquatic habitats from high-altitude strams to the deep sea, although most are marine.

Family level detail.
Mostly small well-camouflaged cryptic fishes with finger-like pelvic fins on the underside of the head and a long-based spinous dorsal fin joined to a short soft-rayed portion. The spinous part begins with several stiff spines, and the soft-rayed part contains up to 6 rays. Head often with orbital and nasal tentacles. They have internal fertilization and give birth to live young.

Taxonomy

Phylum:
Chordata
Subphylum:
Craniata
Superclass:
Gnathostomata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Perciformes
Family:
Clinidae
Genus:
Heteroclinus
Species:
adelaidae

General Description

Body long, slender, mouth small; pores around eye in a single series; pelvic fins with a small spine and 2 segmented rays; anal fin broadly connected by a membrane to about the middle of tail base; dorsal fin arising over middle of gill cover, hind membrane connected to base of tail fin; 11 pectoral-fin rays. Anterior lateral line scales black. To 9 cm.

Biology

A relatively common species in shallow seagrass beds in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria.

Habitat

Seagrass beds, in depths of 0-18 m.

Seagrass meadows

Distribution guide

Southern Australia, including western and central Victoria.

Species Group

Fishes › Weedfishes and snakeblennies

Depth

Shore (0-1 m)
Shallow (1-30 m)

Water Column

On or near sea floor

Max Size

9 cm

Commercial Species

No

Global Dispersal

Native to Australia

Conservation Status

  • DSE Advisory List : Not listed
  • EPBC Act 1999 : Not listed
  • IUCN Red List : Not listed

Author

article author Bray, D.J.

Di Bray is a Senior Collection Manager of ichthyology at Museum Victoria.

Author

article author Gomon, M.F.

Dr. Martin Gomon is a Senior Curator of ichthyology at Museum Victoria.

citation

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. & Gomon, M.F., 2011, Adelaide Weedfish, Heteroclinus adelaidae, in Taxonomic Toolkit for marine life of Port Phillip Bay, Museum Victoria, accessed 25 Feb 2025, http://136.154.202.208:8098/species/6395

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