List of fishes of the Coral Sea

This is a list of fish recorded from the Coral Sea, bordering Australia, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and New Caledonia.
This list comprises locally used common names, scientific names with author citation and recorded ranges. Ranges specified may not be the entire known range for the species, but should include the known range within the waters surrounding of the bordering land masses.

List ordering and taxonomy complies where possible with the current usage in Fishbase, and may differ from the cited source, as listed citations are primarily for range or existence of records for the region.
Sub-taxa within any given family are arranged alphabetically as a general rule.
Details of each species may be available through the relevant internal links. Synonyms may be listed where useful.

Geographical scope

The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Coral Sea as follows:

''On the North.'' The South coast of New Guinea from the entrance to the Bensbak River (141°01'E) to Gado-Gadoa Island near its Southeastern extreme (), down this meridian to the 100 fathom line and thence along the Southern edges of Uluma (Suckling) Reef and those extending to the Eastward as far as the Southeast point of Lawik Reef () off Tagula Island /nowiki>Vanatinai.html" ;"title="Vanatinai.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Vanatinai">/nowiki>Vanatinai">Vanatinai.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Vanatinai">/nowiki>Vanatinai/nowiki>, thence a line to the Southern extreme of Rennell Island and from its Eastern point to Cape Surville, the Eastern extreme of San Cristobal Island [Makira], Solomon Islands, Solomons; thence through Nalongo and Nupani, Nupani, the Northwestern of the Santa Cruz Islands () to the Northernmost Island of the Duff or Wilson Group ().
''On the Northeast.'' From the Northernmost island of the Duff or Wilson Group through these islands to their Southeastern extreme, thence a line to Mera Lava, New Hebrides Islands [Vanuatu] () and down the Eastern coasts of the islands of this Group to Anatom, Aneityum Island () in such a way that all the islands of these Groups, and the straits separating them, are included in the Coral Sea.

''On the Southeast.'' A line from the Southeastern extreme of Aneityum Island to Southeast (Nokanhui) Islets () off the Southeast extreme of New Caledonia, thence through the East point of Middleton Reef to the Eastern extreme of Elizabeth Reef () and down this meridian to Latitude 30° South.

''On the South.'' The parallel of 30° South to the Australian coast.

''On the West.'' The eastern limit of the Arafura Sea York_Peninsula,_Australia_().html" ;"title="Cape_York_Peninsula.html" ;"title="he entrance to the Bensbak River (141°01'E), and thence a line to the northwest extreme of Cape York Peninsula">York Peninsula, Australia ()">Cape_York_Peninsula.html" ;"title="he entrance to the Bensbak River (141°01'E), and thence a line to the northwest extreme of Cape York Peninsula">York Peninsula, Australia ()and the East Coast of Australia as far south as Latitude 30° South.

Class Chondrichthyes

Order Hexanchiformes

Family Hexanchidae - Sixgill and sevengill sharks
*Bluntnose sixgill shark ''Hexanchus griseus'' (Bonnaterre, 1788) (Worldwide in tropical and tepmperate seas)

Order Heterodontiformes

Family Heterodontidae – Hornsharks, Port Jackson sharks, bullhead sharks.
*Zebra bullhead shark '' Heterodontus zebra'' (Gray,1831) (Northern Australia to southern Japan)

Order

Orectolobiformes

Family Orectolobidae – Wobbegongs
*Tasselled wobbegong ''Eucrossorhinus dasypogon'' Regan, 1908 (Northern Australia and New Guinea)
*Banded wobbegong ''Orectolobus ornatus'' (De Vis, 1883) (Northern Australia, New Guinea and southern Japan)
*Northern wobbegong ''Orectolobus wardi'' Whitley, 1939 (Northern Australia)

Family Hemiscylliidae - Bamboo sharks
*Brownbanded bamboo shark ''Chiloscyllium punctatum'' Mueller and Henle, 1838 (East coast of Indian peninsula to northern Australia and north to Japan)
*Epaulette shark ''Hemiscyllium ocellatum'' (Bonnaterre, 1788) (Northern Australia and New Guinea)
*Speckled catshark ''Hemiscyllium trispeculare'' Richardson, 1843 (Northern Australia)

Family Stegostomatidae - Leopard sharks
*Zebra shark ''Stegostoma fasciatum'' (Hermann, 1783) (East Africa and the Red Sea to Australia and New Caledonia)

Family Ginglymostomatidae - Nurse sharks
*Tawny nurse shark ''Nebrius ferrugineus'' (Lesson, 1830) (Indo-West Pacific from East Africa and the Red Sea to the Society Islands)

Family Rhincodontidae - Whale sharks
*Whale shark ''Rhincodon typus'' (Smith, 1828) (Circumglobal in warm temperate seas)

Order

Lamniformes

Family Odontaspididae - Sand tiger sharks
*Grey nurse shark '' Carcharias taurus'' Rafinesque, 1810 syn. ''Eugomphodus taurus'' (Around the Australian mainland, also widespread overseas) (Tropical and temperate waters of most seas but absent from eastern and cantral Pacific Ocean)

Family Alopiidae - Thresher sharks
*Small tooth thresher shark ''Alopias pelagicus'' Nakamura, 1935 (Circumtropical)

Family Lamnidae – Makos, Mackerel sharks
*Shortfin mako ''Isurus oxyrinchus'' Rafinesque, 1809 (Circumglobal in temperate and tropical seas)

Order

Carcharhiniformes

Family '' Scyliorhinidae'' - Catsharks
*Marbled catshark '' Atelomycterus macleayi'' Whitley, 1939 (Northern Australia)
*Reticulated swellshark '' Cephaloscyllium fasciatum'' Chen, 1966 (Northern Australia and South China Sea)

Family Carcharhinidae – Whaler sharks, requiem sharks
*Silvertip shark '' Carcharhinus albimarginatus'' (Rueppell, 1837) (Tropical Indopacific and eastern Pacific)
*Bignose shark '' Carcharhinus altimus'' (Springer, 1950) (Circumglobal in temperate and tropical seas)
*Grey reef shark ''Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos'' (Bleeker, 1856) (East Africa and Red Sea east to Hawaii and Pitcairn Island)
**Pigeye shark ''Carcharhinus amboinensis'' (Mueller and Henle, 1839) (East Africa to Australia)
*Bronze whaler '' Carcharhinus brachyurus'' (Günther,1870) (Jurien Bay, Western Australia to Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, and northern Tasmania) (Along coastal margins in most tropical and temperate seas. Apparently absent in western Atlantic)
*Long nose grey shark ''Carcharhinus brevipinna'' (Mueller and Henle, 1839) (Continental margins of all tropical and warm temperate seas except the eastern Pacific)
*Whitecheek shark ''Carcharhinus dussumieri'' (Valenciennes, 1839) (Continental margins from the Persian Gulf to northern Australia and north to Japan)
*Silky shark ''Carcharhinus falciformis'' (Bibron, 1839) (Circumtropical, oceanic and coastal)
*Bull shark ''Carcharhinus leucas'' (Valenciennes, 1839) (Continental coasts of all tropical and subtropical seas, sometimes far up rivers)
*Blacktip shark '' Carcharhinus limbatus'' (Valenciennes, 1839)
*Oceanic whitetip shark ''Carcharhinus longimanus'' (Poey, 1861) (Circumtropical, mainly oceanic-epipelagic)
*Blacktip reef shark ''Carcharhinus melanopterus'' (Quoy and Gaimard, 1824) (Ind-west and central Pacific from East Africa and the Red Sea to Hawaii and French Polynesia)
*Black whaler '' Carcharhinus obscurus'' (Lesueur, 1815) (Circumglobal in tropical and warm temperate seas, primarily on continental shelves)
*Sandbar shark ''Carcharhinus plumbeus'' (Nardo, 1827) (Circumglobal in tropical and warm temperate seas)
*Blackspot shark '' Carcharhinus sealei'' (Pietschmann, 1916) (East Africa to Northern Australia)
*Spot-tail shark '' Carcharhinus sorrah'' (Valenciennes 1837) (East Africa and the Red Sea to the Solomon and Santa Cruz Islands)
*Tiger shark ''Galeocerdo cuvier'' (Peron and Lesueur, 1822) (Circumtropical)
*Sicklefin lemon shark ''Negaprion acutidens'' (Rueppell, 1837) (East Africa and the Red Sea to the Society Islands)

Family Hemigaleidae - Weasel sharks
*Whitetip reef shark '' Triaenodon obesus'' (Rueppell, 1837) (Indo-Pacific and tropical eastern Pacific)

Family Sphyrnidae - Hammerhead sharks
*Scalloped hammerhead ''Sphyrna lewini'' (Griffith and Smith, 1834) (Worldwide in tropical and warm temperate seas)
*''Sphyrna mokarran''
*''Eusphyra blochii''

Order

Torpediniformes

Family Hypnidae – Coffin rays, electric rays
*Coffin ray '' Hypnos monopterygium'' (Shaw and Nodder, 1795) (Broome, Western Australia to Caloundra, Queensland)(Western Australia, South Australia and southeastern Australia, including southern Queensland and adjacent Great Barrier Reef)

Order

Rajiformes

Family Rhinobatidae – Guitarfishes
*Common shovelnose ray '' Glaucostegus typus'' (Anonymous ennett 1830) syn. ''Rhinobatos batillum'' Whitley, 1939 ((as ''R. batillum'')Northern Australia between Shark Bay, Western Australia and the Capricorn Group, occasionally near sand cays on the Great Barrier Reef)

Order

Myliobatiformes

Family Dasyatidae – Stingrays
*Kuhl's stingray '' Dasyatis kuhlii'' (Mueller and Henle, 1841) (East Africa and Red Sea to Samoa and north to Japan)
*Blue-spotted stingray ''Taeniura lymma'' (Forsskal, 1775) (East Africa to western Pacific and Great Barrier Reef)
*Black-blotched stingray ''Taeniura meyeni'' Mueller an Henle, 1841 (Indo-Pacific)
*Thorny ray '' Urogymnus africanus'' (Bloch and Schneider 1801) (East Africa to northern Australia and the Marshall Islands)

Family Myliobatidae – Eagle rays
*Spotted eagle ray ''Aetobatus narinari'' (Euphrasen, 1790) (Cosmopolitan in tropical to warm temperate seas)

Family Mobulidae - Mantas and devil rays
*Manta ''Manta birostris'' (Donndorff, 1798) (Circumtropical)
*Devil ray ''Mobula tarapacana'' (Philippi, 1892) (Indo-Pacific and eastern Atlantic, possibly circumtropical)

Class Osteichthyes

Order Albuliformes

Family Albulidae - Bonefishes
*Pacific bonefish '' Albula argentea'' (Forster and Bloch in Schneider, 1801) (Indo-Pacific)

Order

Anguilliformes

Family Moringuidae - Worm eels
*Slender worm-eel '' Moringua ferruginea'' (Bliss, 1883) (East Africa to Easter Island and north to Ryukyu Islands)

Family Chlopsidae - False morays
*Grey reef eel ''Kaupichthys diodontus