''Nemadactylus valenciennesi'' (

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

s include blue morwong, queen snapper, the queen fish, sea carp or southern blue morwong), is a species of marine ray-finned fish, traditionally regarded as belonging to the family

Cheilodactylidae Cheilodactylidae , commonly called morwongs but also known as butterfish, fingerfins, jackassfish, sea carp, snappers, and moki, is a family of marine ray-finned fish. They are found in subtropical oceans in the Southern Hemisphere. The common ...

, the members of which are commonly known as morwongs. It is endemic to southern Australia.

Taxonomy

''Nemadactylus valenciennesi'' was first formally described in 1937 as ''Sciaenoides valenciennesi'' by the Australian

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

Gilbert Percy Whitley with the type locality given as King George Sound in Western Australia. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

honours

Achille Valenciennes Achille Valenciennes (9 August 1794 – 13 April 1865) was a French zoologist. Valenciennes was born in Paris, and studied under Georges Cuvier. His study of parasitic worms in humans made an important contribution to the study of parasitology. ...

, who originally described this species as ''Cheilodactylus carponemus'' in 1830, but that name is a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of '' N. macropterus''. Genetic and morphological analyses strongly support the placement of ''

Nemadactylus ''Nemadactylus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, traditionally regarded as belonging to the family Cheilodactylidae, the members of which are commonly known as morwongs. They are found in the South Atlantic, Indian and South Pacific Oceans. ...

'' in the family

Latridae Latridae commonly called trumpeters, is a family of marine ray-finned fish. They are found in temperate seas in the Southern Hemisphere. The classification of the species within the Latridae and the related Cheilodactylidae is unclear.They a ...

, alongside almost all of the other species formerly classified in the Cheilodactylidae.

Description

''Nemadactylus valenciennesi'' is a large species of morwong which attains a maximum total length of . The overall colour is silvery blue with yellow tints on the flanks. There is a pattern of bright blue and yellow lines around the eyes. It has thick, fleshy lips and there is a very elongated pectoral fin ray. The juveniles are marked with a number of yellow horizontal lines on the body with a black blotch on the flank, these markings fade and in larger individuals they are vague. The maximum recorded weight for this species is .

Distribution and habitat

''Nemadactylus valenciennesi'' Is endemic to the waters of southern Australia from

Lancelin, Western Australia Lancelin is a small fishing and tourist town 127 km north of Perth, Western Australia. It is within the Shire of Gingin at the end of Lancelin Road, and a few kilometres away from the scenic highway Indian Ocean Drive (State Route 60). Lanc ...

to Wooli, New South Wales, including northern Tasmania. It is found on offshore rocky reefs at depths between .

Biology

''Nemadactylus valenciennesi'' has a relatively poorly understood biology. It is thought that they breed in inshore waters and move into deeper waters following breeding. It is a shorter lived species than other morwongs, which are smaller than this species, living for up to 21 years. However, it attains sexual maturity at the same young age of 3 to 7 years as its smaller congeners.

Fisheries

''Nemadactylus valenciennesi'' is the main species by weight landed by demersal gill net and longline fisheries in southern Western Australia where it is also one of the species most often kept by recreational anglers.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2615461 valenciennesi Fish described in 1937 Taxa named by Gilbert Percy Whitley