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Richardson's Boarfish
Pseudopentaceros richardsoni (Smith, 1844)
A Richardson's Boarfish trawled from a depth of 440m, off Eden, New South Wales, June 2002. (AMS I.41420-001). View larger image.
Richardson's Boarfish has a long-based first dorsal fin that has 14 to 15 stout spines. The second dorsal fin is short-based and positioned opposite the anal fin. The ventral fin is large.
This species has a small mouth and a head that is covered with rough, striated bones.
It is grey-green to steel blue above and paler below.
Richardson's Boarfish grows to 58cm in length.
It is recorded from the surface down to 600m depth, but is usually trawled in deep water.
This species has a very wide distribution, being found in temperate marine waters of the Southern Hemisphere.
In Australia it is only recorded from off the central to southern coast of New South Wales, from off the western coast of Victoria from off south-western Western Australia.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Further reading
- Hardy, G.S. 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.
