New 🐟 Mercury Safety Guide & Omega-3 Rankings Updated for 2026. View Omega-3 Rankings →

🌊 Marine Least Concern 🌡️ Tropical

Spotwing gurnard

Lepidotrigla spiloptera Günther, 1880
Max Length
15.4 cm
Max Weight
-
Lifespan
-
Trophic Level
3.5
Depth
54–300 m
Climate
Tropical
Resilience
High
Vulnerability
29.00/100
Typical Length
-
Depth Zone
demersal

📖 Overview

A tropical to warm temperate species . Occurs over soft bottom of the continental shelf. Benthic . Excellent food fish .

Scientific Name
Lepidotrigla spiloptera
Authority
Günther, 1880
Habitat
Marine
Climate
Tropical
IUCN Status
LC
Max Length
15.4 cm
Depth Range
54–300 m
Trophic Level
3.5
Resilience
High
Vulnerability
29.00/100
Salinity
30–40 ppt

🔬 Taxonomy

🐟 Physical Description

Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 15 - 16; Anal soft rays: 14 - 16; Vertebrae: 32 - 33. This species is distinguished by the following characters: the lateral profile of body with slight convex curve from posterior part of first dorsal fin base to the moderately narrow caudal peduncle; with a narrow but distinct postorbital notch above and behind each eye and faint furrow across nape at rear of interorbital space; the rostral process with broad to deep medial notch and nearly straight to slightly curved anterior edge on each rostral lobe to triangular spine of moderate size at apical corner; pored lateral line scales 58-61; scales above lateral line 3 and below about 14-17; D1 IX, second distinctly longer than first, barely longer than third, and subsequent spines progressively shorter; D2 15-16 rays; A 15 (rarely 14 or 16) rays; pectoral fins reaching about fourth or fifth anal fin ray, the first free pectoral fin ray reaching to between anus and base of third anal fin ray, not or just reaching tip of pelvic fin. Colouration: a broad red band just distal to middle of caudal fin with broad ventrally tapering pink margin and transverse red band basally; inner surface of pectoral fin dark greenish brown with a large black patch covering ventral third to half of fin from base to distal margin except for fine red margin dorsally and distally and broad red margin ventrally, prominent white spots are scattered over all but red areas on fin .Cross section: compressed.

🌀 Behaviour

Behavioural data for Spotwing gurnard is currently being reviewed.

🦐 Diet

aquatic invertebrates
small fish
algae
detritus

🥚 Reproduction

🐣 Oviparous 📦 Batch Spawner
Spawning Season
spring-summer
Spawn Location
Pelagic
Fertilization
External

🌍 Habitat & Distribution

Marine; demersal; depth range 54 - 300 m . Tropical West Pacific: confirmed from Indonesia and Australia (Ref.

🌿 Ecology

Zone Preferences
🌊 Marine ⬇️ Benthic
Trophic Level
3.5±0.3

📐 Morphometrics

Length–Weight Relationship: W = 0.00661 × L3.07 (TL)
Max TL
15.4cm
Dorsal Spines
9
Dorsal Rays
16
Anal Rays
15
Vertebrae
33

🌡️ Water Parameters & Tolerance

Salinity Range
30–40ppt

🛡️ Conservation Assessment

IUCN Category
Least Concern
Assessment Date
2017

📊 Population Risk & Fisheries

Population Resilience
High
Minimum doubling time
Fishing Vulnerability
29.00/100
Low vulnerability
Trophic Level
3.5
Predator
Climate Zone
Tropical
Described By
Günther, 1880

🌐 Names & Taxonomy

Language Common Names
🇬🇧English Red-fringed Gurnard · Spot-wing Gurnard · Spottedwing gurnard · Spotwing gurnard
🌍CES štítník černoploutvý
🇫🇷French Grondin aile tachetée
🇵🇹Portuguese Falso-voador-de-asa-pintada
🇪🇸Spanish Cabete aleta manchada

🗺️ Global Occurrence Map

Occurrence records from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) - 1 records indexed .

Occurrence density from GBIF View GBIF records ↗

👥 Community & Contribute

Aquareap Community Observations
0 Observations logged on Aquareap

No observations yet - be the first to log one!

View all observations for Spotwing gurnard ↗
Suggest an Edit

Spotted incorrect or outdated data? Submit a correction and our editorial team will review it. Approved edits go live within 48 hours.

Link to a scientific paper, FishBase, or other authoritative source
Report an Issue

Found a factual error, broken data, or inappropriate content? Let us know and we will investigate promptly.