''Glaucosoma hebraicum'', the West Australian dhufish , Westralian jewfish, or West Australian pearl perch, is a species of fish in the family Glaucosomatidae, the pearl perches. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the waters around

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

from

Shark Bay, Western Australia Shark Bay ( Malgana: ''Gathaagudu'', "two waters") is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/shark-bay area is located approximately north of Perth, on the ...

, to the

Archipelago of the Recherche The Archipelago of the Recherche, known locally as the Bay of Isles, is a group of 105 islands, and over 1200 "obstacles to shipping", off the south coast of Western Australia. The islands stretch from east to west and to off-shore encomp ...

at depths to , though typically they occur at depths of . This species is important to local

commercial fisheries Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often p ...

and is also popular as a

game fish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish pursued by recreational anglers, and can be freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, or released after capture. Some game fish are also targeted commercial ...

Description

This species can reach in

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

, though most do not exceed . The greatest recorded weight for this species is . They reach maturity at the age of 3–4 years and can live for more than 40 years. The pearlescent, silver-grey colour of this fish is broken by dark stripes. It is distinguished from a species found in the

eastern states of Australia The eastern states of Australia are the states adjoining the east continental coastline of Australia. These are the mainland states of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, and the island state of Tasmania. The Australian Capital Territor ...

by a dark stripe over the eye region. This striping is prominent in juveniles and fades as the fish matures at about three or four years old.

Breeding and habitat

The peak breeding season is between December and March. They are broadcast spawners, with floating eggs developing into plankton-feeding pelagic larvae. Adults occurs in various inshore habitats, from hard flat shelf areas to reefs, wrecks, and underwater caverns and gutters.

References

External links

Images.
FishBase. {{Taxonbar, from=Q2141925 Glaucosomatidae Fish of the Indian Ocean Marine fish of Western Australia Endemic fauna of Australia Taxa named by John Richardson (naturalist) Fish described in 1845 Australian cuisine