Fish Bits
Photos, visitors, weird and wonderful specimens, news from the field.
Our Bloggers
Mark McGrouther
Collection Manager, Ichthyology
Amanda Hay
Technical Officer, Ichthyology
Archives
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Fish Bits
- Apr 2012
- Mar 2012
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Feb 2012
- 'Water squirting' Common Lionfish
- This week in fish: Warty Anglerfish
- This week in Fish: Incredible Barreleye and a huge shark tooth
- Incredible Barreleye video
- This week in Fish: Shark beaching and Cobbler Wobbegong
- The Power of X-rays
- Southern Garfish, Hyporhamphus melanochir
- This week in Fish: First specimen of Denise's Pygmy Seahorse
- May 2012
- Jan 2012
- Dec 2011
- Nov 2011
- Sep 2011
- Aug 2011
- Jul 2011
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Jun 2011
- This week in Fish: Pacific Leaping Blenny
- Spikefin Goby, Discordipinna griessingeri
- Huge Oarfish in the shallows
- Dusky Whaler juveniles in Sydney 2011
- This week in Fish: Moorish Idols and sponge eaters
- Which fishes eat sponges?
- This week in Fish: Back to reality
- Kermadec wrap-up
- This week in Fish: Baby Batfish
- May 2011
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Apr 2011
- This week in Fish: Pineapplefish and Surf Sardine
- Dolphins at Manly
- This week in Fish: Whale Shark sighting
- Whale Shark in Botany Bay - April 2011
- This week in Fish: Lots of sharks and Fin Forensics
- Fin forensics and the fish collection
- This week in Fish: undescribed anglerfish and bellowsfish
- This week in Fish: Find a fish launched
- Mar 2011
- Feb 2011
- Jan 2011
- Dec 2010
- Nov 2010
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Oct 2010
- This week in Fish: Scalloped Hammerhead
- This week in Fish: Flyingfishes in flight
- This week in Fish: Grow a backbone!
- Grow a backbone!
- This week in Fish: Suckling fish
- A fish that suckles its young
- This week in Fish: Baby shark cannibals
- What's in a name?
- BBC Life - Weedy Seadragon footage
- This week in Fish: White Shark and sleeping fishes
- Deepsea trench research trip
- This week in Fish: Toxin glands and a meal to die for
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Sep 2010
- This week in Fish: Eel with a 'fishing rod tongue'
- This week in Fish: Candiru and Slingjaw Wrasse
- Slingjaw Wrasse feeding
- Humphead Maori Wrasse - up close and personal
- Candiru - careful where you go...
- This week in Fish: Deepsea anglerfishes and the Lilac-tip Basslet
- Psychedelic frogfish makes a splash
- This week in Fish: Shrek Fish, Frill and Megamouth Sharks
- Asian Sheepshead Wrasse
- Oct 2011
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Aug 2010
- Frill Shark in Japan
- Megamouth Shark movie
- This week in Fish: Fantastic fish feeding footage
- Fantastic fish feeding footage
- This week in Fish: BBC Life and Banggai Cardinalfish
- BBC Life - Convict Fish footage
- BBC Life - Flyingfish footage
- BBC Life - Sailfish feeding
- Swimming with a Whale Shark
- White Sharks aren't mindless killers
- Fangtooth feeding
- Sandtiger Shark Ultrasound
- This week in Fish: Spitting archerfish and 14 movies
- Archerfishes - sharpshooters of the mangroves
- More news from Pelagos
- Sixgill Shark attacks bait
- This week in Fish: Old content becomes new
- Jul 2010
- Jun 2010
- May 2010
- Apr 2010
- Mar 2010
Fish mimicking octopus mimicking fish!
The Mimic Octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus) has been known for some years for its ability to mimic flatfish, lionfish and seasnakes. A recent discovery in Indonesia adds a whole new twist to this story. The Black-marble Jawfish (Stalix cf. histrio) mimics the Mimic Octopus. This is believed to allow the small fish to forage in relative safety well away from its burrow.
The Harlequin Jawfish, Stalix histrio, occurs in Australian waters. It is known from a few locations in northern Queensland. A second species of Stalix, the Yellow Jawfish, S. flavida, occurs in north-western waters of Western Australia. More information on jawfishes.
Reference:
Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & G.R. Allen. 2006. Fishes. In Beesley, P.L. & A. Wells. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Volume 35. ABRS & CSIRO Publishing: Australia. parts 1-3, pages 1-2178.
Mark McGrouther
, Collection Manager, Ichthyology
Last Updated:
Tags fishes, ichthyology, jawfish, mimic, octopus,
Chinstrap Jawfish, Opistognathus n. sp View full size
Jeff Wiilliams
© Jeff Williams, USNM
Papuan Jawfish with lure View full size
M. Calcutt
© M. Calcutt
Papuan Jawfish at Snapper Island View full size
Norm Morgan
© Norm Morgan