Bullrout
Notesthes robusta
Southern Velvetfish
Aploactisoma milesii
About
The southern velvetfish is a small, oddly shaped fish that looks more like a piece of drifting seaweed than a predator. Its camouflage makes it one of the harder reef animals to spot.
Also known as: little velvetfish, velvetfish
- Length
- 23 cm
- Depth
- up to 6 m
How to tell it apart
Look for the rolling, side-to-side drift described above; few other small bottom fish in the same habitat move this way.
Appearance
This fish grows to about 23 cm. Its skin is thick and has a velvet-like feel, coloured grey, cream or brown with purplish mottling. A long dorsal fin runs almost the full length of its back, and its pectoral fins are long and rounded.
Habitat
Southern velvetfish live in shallow, sheltered waters such as bays and estuaries, over soft sandy bottoms among plants, rocks and sponges.
Behaviour
This fish hunts small crustaceans like shrimp and sometimes buries itself partly in the sand. When it swims, it rolls slowly from side to side, drifting like a piece of floating seaweed. Its fin spines are venomous. It is common but its camouflage means divers rarely notice it.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
