General Description
Body slender, compressed, with long based, low dorsal and anal fins; snout pointed; jaw teeth fused into a beak. Juveniles and females greenish to brown above, with a dark stripe from the snout tip to the tail base, whitish below. Males reddish-brown or bluish with red and blue wavy lines on the head and blue fin margins. To 16 cm.
Biology
A common species in Port Phillip, although adults are often in deeper seagrass beds and not usually seen by divers.
Distribution
Southern Australia.
Habitat
In bays, estuaries and along the coast, in seagrass beds and on rocky reefs, in depths of 1-22 m.
More Information
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Animal Type
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Animal SubType
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Brief Id
A slender fish with a pointed snout, greenish to brown above and white below or reddish-brown with wavy lines on the head.
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Maximum Size
16 cm
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Habitats
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Endemicity
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Commercial
No
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Conservation Statuses
DSE Advisory List: Not listed, EPBC Act 1999: Not listed, IUCN Red List: Least Concern
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Depths
Shallow (1-30 m)
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Water Column Locations
On or near seafloor
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Taxon Name
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Scientific Author
(Valenciennes, 1840)
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Common Name
Little Weed Whiting
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Kingdom
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Phylum
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Subphylum
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Superclass
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Class
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Order
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Family
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Subfamily
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Genus
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Species Name
balteatus
