School of Western Striped Grunter Click to enlarge image
A school of Western Striped Grunter, Sceale Bay, South Australia, 22 February 2009. Image: David Muirhead
© David Muirhead

Fast Facts

  • Classification
    Genus
    Pelates
    Species
    octolineatus
    Family
    Terapontidae
    Class
    Actinopterygii
    Subphylum
    Vertebrata
    Phylum
    Chordata
    Kingdom
    Animalia
  • Size Range
    It grows to about 28 cm in length.

Introduction

The Western Striped Grunter is endemic to Australian waters.



Identification

The Western Striped Grunter is blue to grey above and white below. It has 5 to 8 dark bars on the sides of the body. The caudal fin has rows of spots or bands and a black margin.


Western Striped Grunter, Pelates octolineatus

A school of Western Striped Grunter, Pelates octolineatus, Wallaroo Jetty, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia.

Image: David Muirhead
© David Muirhead

Habitat

It occurs in estuaries and river mouths.

Distribution

The species is an Australian endemic.

The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums. Click on the map for detailed information. Source: Atlas of Living Australia.


Distribution data sourced from the Atlas of Living Australia

References

  1. Gomon, M.F., Bray, D. & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 2008. The Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Reed New Holland. Pp. 928.
  2. Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & G.R. Allen. 2006. Fishes. In Beesley, P.L. & A. Wells. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Volume 35. ABRS & CSIRO Publishing: Australia. parts 1-3, pages 1-2178.