Old wife
📖 Overview
Juveniles live in estuaries while adults occur in estuaries and on inshore and offshore rocky reefs and seagrass beds . Found either in large schools, in pairs or as solitary individuals . Neither anterolateral glandular groove nor venom gland is present . Reported to have venomous fin spines without associated venom gland (https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/445#moreinfo).
🔬 Taxonomy
🐟 Physical Description
Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14 - 15; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 14 - 15; Vertebrae: 26. Adults are silver to brown with black vertical stripes .: elongated.
🌀 Behaviour
Behavioural data for Old wife is currently being reviewed.
🦐 Diet
🥚 Reproduction
🌍 Habitat & Distribution
Marine; brackish; reef-associated; depth range ? - 90 m . Temperate; 26°S - 43°S Endemic to Australia.
🌿 Ecology
📐 Morphometrics
🌡️ Water Parameters & Tolerance
🛡️ Conservation Assessment
📊 Population Risk & Fisheries
⚠️ Venom Profile
- immediate intense pain
- swelling
- erythema
- occasional nausea and weakness
Analgesia; wound care; tetanus prophylaxis; severe cases may require monitoring for systemic effects.
References: Compiled from Bhide (2018), Halstead et al. (1988) and family-specific envenomation literature
🌐 Names & Taxonomy
| Language | Common Names |
|---|---|
| 🇬🇧English | Angelfish · Bastard Dory · Double Scalare · Long-spined Chaetodon · Moonlighter · Zebra Fish · Zebra-fish · old wife |
| 🌍CES | trnohřbet obrněný |
| 🇩🇪German | Doppel-Rückenflosser |
| 🇫🇮Finnish | Sirppiahven |
| 🇵🇹Portuguese | Peixe-zebra-de-armadura · Zebra-de-Armadura |
| 🇷🇺Russian | Австралийский колючепёр |
| 🇪🇸Spanish | Pez Gallo Bastardo |
| 🌍THA | ปลาโอลด์ไวฟ์ |
| 🇨🇳Chinese | 盔姥鲈 |
🗺️ Global Occurrence Map
Occurrence records from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) - 25 records indexed .
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