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Luderick
Girella tricuspidata (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824)
A Luderick photographed at Nelson Bay, NSW.
The Luderick is a popular angling species in New South Wales. This species is commonly seen by divers and snorkelers in shallow rocky reef areas. The Luderick is recognised by its evenly arched dorsal and ventral profiles, small mouth and eye, large tail, and colour pattern. In marine waters it is bluish-grey, whereas in estuaries it is a darker grey to brown. it has 11 or 12 thin tapering bars on the side of the body, which fade to silvery below.
The Luderick is recorded from southern Queensland to central South Australia, including northern Tasmania. It is only rarely encountered, however, away from the east coast.
Adults live in coastal and estuarine waters down to a depth of 20m. They are often seen in large schools. Larvae are found in estuaries primarily in seagrass beds and also in rockpools. Juveniles move into mangrove-lined creeks and estuaries during their first year. Adults grow to a maximum length of about 70cm.
Luderick feed mainly on algae which they graze off rocks or floating material. The species name, tricuspidata, refers to the flattened three-cusped teeth.
This species is also commonly known as Blackfish.
View a low resolution movie clip (79k) of this species. Go to the movies page for high and low resolution versions.
Further Reading
- Kuiter, R.H. in Gomon, M.F, C.J.M. Glover & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. State Print, Adelaide. Pp. 992.
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-Eastern Australia. Crawford House Press. Pp. 437.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
