Pelates octolineatus

Western striped grunter
Pelates octolineatus
Pelates octolineatus, Geographe, WA, Photo: Paul Day

Distribution

Temperate Australasia


Description

Closely resembles the eastern striped trumpeter, but has a smaller and more rounded head and three-pointed teeth. It also has five to eight stripes along the sides and a fully spotted tail. The species is very abundant in sheltered seagrass beds, consuming large quantities of algae growing on the seagrass as a major component of its diet.


Information

Max Size: 28 cm

Sea Temperature Range: 15.9-23.7°C

Depth: 0-15m

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 (5.0% 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: Many (95 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