Chirodactylus spectabilis
Banded morwong | Cheilodactylus spectabilis
Same Genus
Distribution
Temperate Australasia
Description
Dark brick red to brown bars on a lighter background, and usually with red or orange around the eye, pectoral fin base and lips. Individuals in deeper water or at night can sometimes \'turn off\' some of the bars and appear mostly pale. Lives to over 90 years of age, and has an extremely small home range size (often found associated with a single large boulder), so is extremely vulnerable to over-fishing.
Information
Max Size: N/A cm
Sea Temperature Range: 12.2-22°C
Depth: 1-50 m
Habitat Generalization Index: 16.98
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: Common (27.2% 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: Few (2 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: GJ Edgar. 2008. Australian Marine Life. New Holland, Sydney