Bathystethus cultratus

Grey Knifefish
Bathystethus cultratus
Bathystethus cultratus, Photo: Andrew Green

Distribution

Temperate Australasia


Description

Silvery with a rounded blade-like belly, small mouth and small pectoral fins and a forked tail. Schools near the surface.


Information

Max Size: 30 cm

Sea Temperature Range: 18-24.9°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 (9.3% 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: Large aggregations (133 per transect)

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


Edit by: RD Stuart-Smith, GJ Edgar, AJ Green, IV Shaw. 2015. Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland