Animal Species:Slate Sweetlips, Diagramma labiosum (Macleay, 1883)

Identification

Adult Slate Sweetlips are uniform grey, sometimes with scattered blotches.

The Australian sweetlip expert, Jeff Johnson, stated, "Small juveniles are distinctly black and white striped, and with growth the stripes split into multiple finer stripes, later into lines of gradually smaller spots, and eventually the fish generally becomes an overall slate grey."

Size range

The Slate Sweetlips grows to 1 m in length.

Distribution

The species occurs in subtropical marine waters of Australia and southern Papua New Guinea.

In Australia it is known from southern Western Australia, around the tropical north of the country, and south to southern New South Wales.

Distribution by collection data

Ozcam map of Slate Sweetlips specimens in the Australian Museum collection.

What does this mean?

Habitat

It lives in shallow estuaries and lagoons.

Other behaviours and adaptations

It is sometimes seen in large schools.

Classification

Species:

labiosum

Genus:

Diagramma

Family:

Haemulidae

Class:

Actinopterygii

Subphylum:

Vertebrata

Phylum:

Chordata

Kingdom:

Animalia

What does this mean?

References

1. Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
2. Johnson, J.W., Randall, J.E. & S.F. Chenoweth, 2001. Diagramma melanacrum new species of haemulid fish from Indonesia, Borneo and the Philippines with a generic review. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. 46(2): 657-676.
3. Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
4. Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
5. Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 251. (as D.pictum)

Mark McGrouther , Collection Manager, Ichthyology
Last Updated: 24 May 2012

Tags fishes, ichthyology, Slate Sweetlips, Diagramma labiosum, Haemulidae,