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Smooth Flutemouth
Fistularia commersonii Rüppell, 1838
Anterior region of a flutemouth (probably a Rough Flutemouth) at a depth of 10m, the Pipeline, Nelson Bay, New South Wales, May 1999. View larger image.
The Smooth flutemouth is a very elongate fish that has a long filament projecting from the caudal fin (glossary). The filament is lined with sensory pores, and may serve as a long-range sensory system for detecting prey.
This species is usually greenish with blue wavy lines.
It grows to 1.6m in length.
The Smooth Flutemouth is found on coastal reefs and in seagrass beds. It has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution.
In Australia it is recorded from the south-western coast of Western Australia, around the north of the country and south to the central New South Wales coast.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Two species of flutemouths are recorded from Australian waters, the Smooth Flutemouth and the Rough Flutemouth F.petimba.
These species can be differentiated by bony plates along the dorsal midline that are present in F.petimba but absent in F.commersonii and two ridges on the top of the snout that are parallel in F.petimba but bulge centrally in F.commersonii.
Further reading
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Seahorses, Pipefishes and their Relatives. A Comprehensive Guide to Syngnathiformes. TMC Publishing Pp. 240.
- Orr, J.W. & T.W. Pietsch, 1998. Pipefishes and their Allies. in Paxton, J.R. & W.N. Eschmeyer (Eds). 1998. Encyclopedia of Fishes (ed. 2). San Diego: Academic Press.
- Paxton, J.R., D.F. Hoese, G.R. Allen & J.E. Hanley. 1989. Zoological Catalogue of Australia Vol.7 Pisces Petromyzontidae to Carangidae. Canberra: Australian Biological Resources Survey. Pp. i-xii, 1-665.
