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Gulf Gurnard Perch
Neosebastes bougainvillii (Cuvier, 1829)

Above and below: A Gulf Gurnard Perch at a depth of 20 m, northern outer reef, Glenelg, South Australia, March 2004. Photo © D. Muirhead. View larger image.

Photo © D. Muirhead. View larger image.

A Gulf Gurnard Perch at a depth of 31 m, wreck of the HMAS Swan, Geographe Bay, Western Australia, April 2006. Photo © E. Schlögl. View larger image.

A Gulf Gurnard Perch at a depth of 20 m, Glenelg Barge, South Australia, March 1998. Photo: D. Muirhead. View larger image.

A Gulf Gurnard Perch at a depth of 14 m, Moana Reef, South Australia, February 1996. Photo: D. Muirhead. View larger image.

The Gulf Gurnard Perch has a 'hump-backed' appearance, with the head profile rising steeply behind the eyes. It has large pectoral fins and two spines on the upper operculum. The long dorsal fin spines are separated by deeply incised membranes.

It is pale pinkish, red or brown usually with a large dark blotch on the body above the pectoral fin that extends into the spinous portion of the dorsal fin. There are smaller dark blotches posteriorly on the body and fins and often orange spots on the belly.

There are numerous spines and ridges on the head, which are important characters for distinguishing the Gulf Gurnard Perch from the eight other species of Neosebastes that occur in Australian waters. Other useful characters to help distinguish this species are the absence of a large black blotch on the soft rayed portion of the dorsal fin and the absence of dense black spots on the sides of the body.

It grows to about 30 cm in length.

This is a benthic species that occurs on rocky reefs most commonly below 50 m in depth.

It is endemic to Australia, occurring in temperate marine waters from eastern South Australia to south-western Western Australia.

The Gulf Gurnard Perch is also known as the Gulf Gurnard Scorpionfish and Gulf Perch. It has been listed in many texts as N. panticus. Motomura (2004) stated that N. panticus is a junior synonym of N. bougainvillii.

View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.

Related links

• Bighead Gurnard Perch fact sheet
• Blackspotted Gurnard Perch fact sheet
• Incised Gurnard Perch fact sheet
• Johnson's Gurnard Perch fact sheet
• Long-snout Gurnard Perch fact sheet
• View the Scorpionfishes list
• View the Scorpionfishes of Australia list

Further reading

1. Poss, S.G. in Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. State Print, Adelaide. Pp. 992.
2. Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
3. Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
4. Motomura, H. 2004. Revision of the scorprionfish genus Neosebastes (Scorpaeniformes: Neosebastidae), with descriptions of five new species. Indo-Pacific Fishes. 37: 1-76, pl. 1-2.