Alison's Blue Devil, Paraplesiops alisonae
Scientific name: Paraplesiops alisonae
Click to enlarge image
An Alison's Blue Devil at a depth of 6 m, Port Phillip Bay, November 2009.
Image: Sascha Schulz
© Sascha Schulz
© Sascha Schulz
Fast Facts
-
Classification
- Genus
- Paraplesiops
- Species
- alisonae
- Family
- Plesiopidae
- Order
- Perciformes
- Class
- Actinopterygii
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Kingdom
- Animalia
-
- Size Range
- Up to 15 cm (standard length)
Introduction
Alison's Blue Devil is a small spotted species that is only known from south-eastern Australian coastal waters.
The holotype of the species is housed in the Australian Museum Fish Collection (AMS I.19921–013).
Identification
Alison's Blue Devil is a small species that has blue spots on the head and blue stripes on the dorsal and anal fins.
Habitat
The species occurs on coastal reefs to about 35 m in depth.
Distribution
The species is endemic to Australia, occurring from the central coast of Victoria, Tasmania and west to eastern South Australia.
The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums. Source: Atlas of Living Australia.
Distribution data sourced from the Atlas of Living Australia
Other behaviours and adaptations
It is a nocturnal species.
References
- Gomon, M.F., Bray, D. & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 2008. The Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Reed New Holland. Pp. 928.
