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Slender Roughy
Optivus agastos Gomon, 2004
A Slender Roughy at a depth of 23 m, Magic Point, Maroubra, Sydney, New South Wales, June 2004. Photo © E. Schlögl. View larger image.
A Slender Roughy at a depth of 12 m, off the northern end of Bowen Island, Jervis Bay, New South Wales, April 2005. Photo © D. & L. Atkinson. View larger image.
The Slender Roughy is a moderately elongate, compressed fish with a series of strong scutes along the belly. It is brown to grey with hyaline fins. There is a red-brown stripe on the upper and lower lobes of the caudal fin.
It grows to 12 cm in length.
This species occurs in coastal waters from southern Queensland to the central coast of Victoria.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
For many years this species was known as Optivus elongatus. OzFishNet member, Dr Martin Gomon from Museum Victoria recently described two new species of Optivus in his 2004 paper - Optivus agastos, which is known from the southern Queensland to the central coast of Victoria, and Optivus agrammus, which occurs from western South Australia to south-western Western Australia. Optivus elongatus is known only from New Zealand waters.
Related links
- View the Sawbellies list
Further reading
- Gomon, M.F. 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.
- Gomon, M.F. 2004. Two new species of roughy (Trachichthyidae: Optivus) from coastal waters of southern Australia. Records of the Australian Museum. 56(2): 173-78.
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433. Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
