''Paraplesiops bleekeri'', commonly known as the eastern blue devil, blue-tipped long-fin or

Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Plesiopidae The longfins, also known as roundheads or spiny basslets, are a family, Plesiopidae, which were formerly placed in the order Perciformes but are now regarded as being ''incertae sedis'' in the subseries Ovalentaria in the clade Percomorpha. They a ...

. This colourful, secretive fish is endemic to Australia, where it is a protected species.

Description

This species grows to 40 cm, and is recognizable by blue and white bands on the body, blue spots on the head, and blue dorsal and anal fins. It also has a yellow base, pectoral, and caudal fins. The pelvic, posterior dorsal, and anal fins are all elongated.Eastern Blue Devil Fish Paraplesiops bleekeri
/ref> This species is a close relative of the southern blue devil (''

Paraplesiops meleagris The southern blue devil (''Paraplesiops meleagris'') is a species of fish in the longfin family Plesiopidae endemic to southern Australia. It is a close relative of the eastern blue devil (''Paraplesiops bleekeri''), which lives in the coastal ...

''), which lives in the colder southern Australian waters.

Distribution

The fish is found in coastal waters of eastern Australia between the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

of southern Queensland and Montague Island, most commonly between

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and

Ulladulla Ulladulla is a coastal town in New South Wales, Australia in the City of Shoalhaven local government area. It is on the Princes Highway about south of Sydney, halfway between Batemans Bay to the south and Nowra to the north. Ulladulla has cl ...

Behaviour

This species is shy and secretive. Males have appeared to defend territories in caves or overhangs, where it remains to attract females and drive males away. They are most active at night.

Habitat

''Paraplesiops bleekeri'' are benthic coastal reef inhabitants. They live inside caves, under ledges and overhangs in reefs and estuaries. They were considered to inhabit waters ranging from 3 to 30 metres in depth, and are most often encountered in shallow waters less than 20 metres, however, recent observations suggest they also inhabit offshore reefs down to at least 50 metres.

Diet

This fish is known to eat

brittle star Brittle stars, serpent stars, or ophiuroids (; ; referring to the serpent-like arms of the brittle star) are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea, closely related to starfish. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomo ...

Conservation status

This species is protected under the laws of New South Wales Fisheries, in particular, the Fisheries Management Act 1994. It is illegal to collect or possess them without a permit. They are protected because of their low abundance, and their desirability in the marine aquarium industry. Efforts to protect them have included the conservation and protection of benthic estuarine habitats, as well as rocky offshore reef areas where they breed. Some protected habitats are: *

Solitary Islands Marine Park Solitary Islands Marine Park (SIMP) is a marine park in New South Wales State waters, Australia. It adjoins the Solitary Islands Marine Reserve (Commonwealth Waters) and was declared under the ''Marine Parks Act 1997 (NSW)'' in January 19 ...

*Port Stephens – Great Lakes Marine Park *

Jervis Bay Marine Park Jervis Bay Marine Park is a marine protected area established by the Government of New South Wales in 1998. and the current zoning plan has been in place since 1 October 2002. The marine park is approximately in area and spans over of coastl ...

Long Reef Aquatic Reserve Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mensur ...

*Bushrangers Bay Aquatic Reserve

Name

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 the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

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 ...

and

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

Pieter Bleeker Pieter Bleeker (10 July 1819 – 24 January 1878) was a Dutch medical doctor, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He was famous for the ''Atlas Ichthyologique des Indes Orientales Néêrlandaises'', his monumental work on the fishes of East Asia ...

(1819-1878) who named two congeners of this species.

References

External links

ImagesImages
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2413206 Paraplesiops Marine fish of Eastern Australia Fish described in 1861 Taxa named by Albert Günther