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Painted Stinkfish
Eocallionymus papilio (Günther, 1864)
A Painted Stinkfish at a depth of 10m, Fly Point, Nelson Bay, New South Wales. Photo © D. & L. Atkinson. View image of a fish at Shiprock, Sydney, New South Wales.
Male (on left) and female Painted Stinkfish swimming off the bottom in courtship behaviour. Photograph taken at a depth of 8 m, Fly Point, Port Stephens, New South Wales, July 2006. Photo © D. & L. Atkinson. View larger image.
Male Painted Stinkfish fighting. These fish are highly territorial. The image was taken at a depth of 8m, Fly Point Marine Reserve, Port Stephens, New South Wales, April 2003. Photo © D. & L. Atkinson. View larger image.
A Painted Stinkfish at a depth of 1m, Shelly Beach, Sydney, New South Wales, May 2003. Photo © S. Dakin. View larger image.
The dragonets and stinkfishes are bottom-dwelling fishes that typically have triangular heads and barbed preopercular spines.
Male and female Painted Stinkfish have different colour patterns (sexual dichromatism). Base colouration can vary from white to pink and dark brown. Males are generally spotted above and have vertical striping below. Females are usually also spotted above but are blotched below. The first dorsal fin of the male is larger and more colourful than that of the female.
The species grows to 13 cm in length, but is more commonly seen at lengths of 5 cm to 7 cm.
The Painted Stinkfish is usually found at depths between 3 m and 50 m, in seagrass beds and areas of muddy, sandy or shell-covered seabeds. It is often well camouflaged.
This species is endemic to Australia. It occurs in temperate marine waters from the central New South Wales coast, around the south of the country to south-western Western Australia.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
The species has also been called the Painted Dragonet.
Related links
- Sand Dragonet fact sheet
- View the family Callionymidae list
- View the Dragonets and Stinkfishes list
Further reading
- Edgar, G.J. 1997. Australian Marine Life: the plants and animals of temperate waters. Reed Books. Pp. 544.
- Fricke, R. 1983. Revision of the Indo-Pacific Genera and Species of the Dragonet Family Callionymidae (Teleostei). Braunschweig. Pp. 774. Figs. 212.
- 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.
- 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.
