Parapercis pacifica
Blacktail grubfish | Speckled Sandperch
Same Genus
Distribution
Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Recently split from P. hexopthtalma (Speckled Grubfish), which is now restricted to the Indian Ocean. Pale body with black specks scattered over head and body, indistinct rectangular outlines onbody and large black patch on tail fin. Male with 'm'-shaped or semi-circular markings on lower cheek, and many black spots above. South-East Asia and offshore Western Australia. Best distinguished from P. queenslandica (Blacktail Grubfish) and P. xanthogramma (Pacific Islands) by location.
Information
Max Size: 19 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 21.6-31.2°C
Depth: 0-6m
Habitat Generalization Index: 2.97
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: Frequent (17.4% 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: Joe Shields