PORT PHILLIP BAY


Blue Warehou 

Seriolella brama

View scientific description and taxonomy

Scientific Details

Meristics.
Dorsal fin spines/rays: VII-IX, 25-29
Anal fin spines/rays: III, 19-23
Caudal fin rays: 17
Pectoral fin rays: 19-22
Ventral fin spines/rays: I, 5
Lateral line: 90
Gill rakers: 6-7 + 1 + 15-18 = 25
Vertebrae: 25

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.
Large, often bulky, wide-ranging fishes, found in or over deep waters, some also in coastal and inshore waters. They have numerous pores on the head and back, very fine jaw teeth in single row, very small weakly attached scales, and variable dorsal fins - some with two distinctly separate dorsal fins, others with almost continuous dorsal fins.

Taxonomy

Phylum:
Chordata
Subphylum:
Craniata
Superclass:
Gnathostomata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Perciformes
Family:
Centrolophidae
Genus:
Seriolella
Species:
brama

General Description

Body deep, robust, streamlined; head blunt; dorsal fin long-based, front portion very low, spinous; tail base with a small, distinct keel on each side; pectoral fin long, falcate, often reaching forked tail. Silvery-blue above, paler below with large black blotch reaching upward from the base of each pectoral fin. To 90 cm.

Biology

Juveniles (to length of about 35 cm) form large schools inshore to feed on plankton near the surface. Adults occur in deeper offshore waters.

Habitat

Usually in open water areas in bays and along the coast, in depths of 3-550 m.

Open water

Distribution guide

South-eastern Australia.

Species Group

Fishes › Trevallies and allies

Depth

Shallow (1-30 m)
Deep ( > 30 m)

Water Column

On or near sea floor Midwater

Max Size

90 cm

Commercial Species

Yes

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, Blue Warehou, Seriolella brama, in Taxonomic Toolkit for marine life of Port Phillip Bay, Museum Victoria, accessed 24 Apr 2025, http://136.154.202.208:8098/species/6460

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