Teleostei (teleosts) >
Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) >
Nemipteridae (Threadfin breams, Whiptail breams)
Etymology: Scolopsis: Name from the Greek masculine noun 'skolos' meaning 'thorn' and suffix '-opsis' (from Greek feminine n. 'opsis' meaning 'aspect', 'appearance') meaning ‘thorny appearance’ presumably referring to 'les dentelures de la préopercule, en ont aussi, et même d'épineuses, aux sous-orbitaires' mentioned by Cuvier (1814) in his designation of the genus. Name ending in -'opsis' are treated as feminine according to ICZN 1999: Article 30.1.2 (Ref. 130620); meridiana: Name from Latin 'meridiana' meaning 'south', referring to the southern distribution of the species.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; demersal; depth range 18 - 86 m (Ref. 118677). Tropical; 7°S - 25°S, 113°E - 148°E (Ref. 120866)
Indo-West Pacific: Northern Australia (Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia to North Palm Island, Queensland)
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 22.6 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 118677)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 10; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 7. This species is distinguished by the following combination of characters: absence of antrorse spine below eye; dorsal scaled area on head reaching anteriorly to between the anterior margin of eye and anterior nostril; no scales on bony opercular ridge and lower limb of preopercle; lateral-line scales 46-48; pectoral-fin rays 17-18; upper part of pectoral-fin base with a reddish blotch when fresh; two blue bands across dorsum of snout; preserved specimens with 18-20 brown diagonal lines on body; posterior nostril usually elongate horizontally, its horizontal diameter 100.0-155.6% (mean 114.8%) of vertical diameter; deep caudal peduncle, its depth 11.4-13.1% (12.2%) of SL; pre-dorsal-fin length 31.4-36.4% (33.9%) of SL (Ref. 118677).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Nakamura, J., B.C. Russell, G.I. Moore and H. Motomura, 2018. Scolopsis meridiana, a new species of monocle bream (Perciformes: Nemipteridae) from northern Australia. Zootaxa 4500(2). (Ref. 118677)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02042 (0.01130 - 0.03688), b=2.99 (2.84 - 3.14), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.7 ±0.5 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (18 of 100).