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Mulliformes (Goatfishes) >
Mullidae (Goatfishes)
Etymology: Upeneus: Greek, ypene, -es = upper lip (Ref. 45335); spottocaudalis: Named for the conspicuous rounded or triangular dark spots or blotches on the lower caudal-fin lobe present for both fresh and preserved specimens, an important diagnostic character.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; pelagic-oceanic; depth range 23 - 25 m (Ref. 116177). Tropical
Eastern Indian Ocean to Western Pacific: Indonesia (Sulawesi and Bali) to Australia (Queensland).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 10.3 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 116177)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 7; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9; Anal spines: 1; Anal soft rays: 6. This species is distinguished by the following characters: D VII + 9; pectoral fins 12-13; gill rakers 5-6 + 15-18 = 22-23; adult measurements in % SL (when different for subadults, values in parentheses): body depth at first dorsal-fin origin 22-25 (22-24); body depth at anus 19-22 (18-20); caudal-peduncle depth 8.6-10; maximum head depth 19-22 (19-21); head depth through eye 15-18 (16-18); interorbital length 7.3-8.9 (7.7-8.1); head length 30-32; snout length 9.7-12 (10-11); postorbital length 11-13 (12-14); orbit length 6.9-8.2 (7.2-8.9); upper jaw length 10-13 (11-13); barbel length 19-22 (21-23); caudal-peduncle length 21-24 (23-25); caudal-fin length 28-32 (30-33); anal-fin height 16-19 (18-19); pelvic-fin length 22-24 (24-26); pectoral-fin length 19-22 (20-23); first dorsal-fin height 19-22 (21-23); second dorsal-fin height 18-21. Colour of body and head red, with dark dots along the lateral line, a saddle behind second dorsal fin; 3-5 red or pale brown bars on each caudal-fin lobe with the bars on the lower lobe interrupted or replaced by 3-4 dark-brown rounded or triangular spots at mid-lobe; dorsal, anal and pelvic fins with red pigment forming patches or stripes; barbels yellow; preserved fish with pale-brown head and body, sometimes with remaining pigmentation dorsally and on dorsal fins, bars on upper-caudal fin lobe are mostly retained; spots on lower caudal-fin lobe are always retained in both adults and subadults (Ref. 116177).
Cross section: oval.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Uiblein, F., D.C. Gledhill and T. Peristiwady, 2017. Two new goatfishes of the genus Upenus (Mullidae) from Australia and Indonesia. Zootaxa 4318(1):295-311. (Ref. 116177)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
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