PORT PHILLIP BAY


Silver Drummer 

Kyphosus sydneyanus (Günther, 1886)

View scientific description and taxonomy

Scientific Details

Meristics.
Dorsal fin spines/rays: XI, 12
Anal fin spines/rays: III, 10-11
Caudal fin rays: 17
Pectoral fin rays: 16-18
Ventral fin spines/rays: I, 5
Lateral line: 49-53
Gill rakers: 5-6 + 14-15

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.
A diverse group of moderately deep-bodied oval fishes with short heads, blunt snouts, a continuous long-based dorsal fin, a concave to forked tail, pelvic fins arising behind the pectoral-fin base and small rough scales. Most are omnivores and often occur in large schools.

Taxonomy

Phylum:
Chordata
Subphylum:
Craniata
Superclass:
Gnathostomata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Perciformes
Family:
Kyphosidae
Subfamily:
Kyphosinae
Genus:
Kyphosus
Species:
sydneyanus

General Description

Body robust, oval, compressed, snout rounded; mouth small, jaws not reaching eye; posterior tips of long-based dorsal and anal fins pointed, anterior soft portion of dorsal and anal fins not elevated; tail broadly forked. Silvery grey, darker above, with silvery streaks on lower half of side; head with dark horizontal stripe from corner of mouth and dark posterior edge on gill cover, tail mostly black at rear. To 80 cm.

Biology

These fishes are solitary or occur in small groups and large schools. Juveniles are often well-offshore among floating debris. They are uncommon in Victorian waters.

Habitat

Around shallow reefs exposed to rough seas and in tidal channels of large estuaries, in depths of 1-30 m.

Reefs

Distribution guide

New Zealand and southern Australia.

Species Group

Fishes › Sweeps and allies

Depth

Shallow (1-30 m)

Water Column

On or near sea floor Midwater

Max Size

80 cm

Commercial Species

No

Global Dispersal

Recorded in 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, Silver Drummer, Kyphosus sydneyanus, in Taxonomic Toolkit for marine life of Port Phillip Bay, Museum Victoria, accessed 25 Feb 2025, http://136.154.202.208:8098/species/6411

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