Pentapodus emeryii

Blue whiptail | Double Whiptail | Purple Threadfin Bream
Pentapodus emeryii
Pentapodus emeryii, Kai Islands, Indonesia, Photo: Joe Shields
Pentapodus emeryii
Pentapodus emeryii, WA, Australia, Photo: Graham Edgar
Pentapodus emeryii
Pentapodus emeryii, Raja Ampat, Indonesia, Photo: Andrew Green
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Pentapodus emeryii
Pentapodus emeryii
Pentapodus emeryii

Distribution

Tropical Indo-Pacific


Description

Broad yellow stripe from pointed snout to eye, which then splits into, a thin lateral stripe from eye to tail base, and a second stripe from above eye along upper body to end of dorsal fin. Blue back, pale underside. iridescent blue tail with long trailing filaments in adults, body seems to glow underwater. Approaches divers.


Information

Max Size: 30 cm

Sea Temperature Range: 22.8-31.5°C

Depth: 2-35m

Habitat Generalization Index: 4.19

Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.


Conservation and Rarity

IUCN Status: Least Concern

Occurrence: Infrequent (8.9% of sites)

Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed

Abundance: Few (2 per transect)

Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.


Edit by: RD Stuart-Smith, GJ Edgar, AJ Green, IV Shaw. 2015. Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland