Heteroclinus wilsoni

Wilsons weedfish
Heteroclinus wilsoni
Heteroclinus wilsoni, adult, Night. Pirates Bay, TAS, Photo: Andrew Green

Distribution


Description

Colour variable. Body reddish brown to green, either of uniform colour or with eight broken dark, vertical bars along trunk and tail, often forming saddles dorsally and ventrally on lateral surfaces of body and extending onto dorsal and anal fins; blotches on fins separated by transparent interspaces; two almost vertical bars extending ventrally from each eye; oblique bar sometimes present on each preopercle and opercle; white to pale crescent shaped bar on mid to upper portion of each pectoral fin base; large white to silver spot sometimes present posterior to each eye; white spots sometimes present on pectoral fin bases and belly; first dorsal dark, other fins mottled.


Information

Max Size: 14 cm

Sea Temperature Range: 12.6-19.8°C

Depth: N/A

Habitat Generalization Index: N/A

Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.


Conservation and Rarity

IUCN Status: Not Evaluated

Occurrence: Infrequent (2.0% of sites)

Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed

Abundance: Solitary (1 per transect)

Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.


Edit by: Andrew Green (DJ Bray, Fishes of Australia)