Indian Soapfish

Pogonoperca ocellata is a species of marine ray-finned fish, related to the groupers and classified within the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae. It is found in the Indian Ocean.

Other names: Snowflake Soapfish.

Description

Pogonoperca ocellata has a relatively deep body with the head length being less than the depth. They are characterisedby having a flap of skin at the tip of their chin, the flap being shorter than the diameter of the eye. The caudal fin is rounded and the lateral line extends on to its base. There are 8 spines and 12-13 soft rays in the dorsal fin and 3 spines and 8 soft rays in the anal fin. The overall colour of the body is brown but this is partially covered with closely set white spots which create reticulations which extend onto thee fins. There are five black saddle like botches along the back, the first runs through the eye, the second is on the nape and the third to the fifth are along the dorsal part of the body. The spiny part of the dorsal fin is yellow. There is also an obvious but small black blotch on the upper part of the base of the caudal fin. This species attains a maximum recorded fish measurement total length of 30 centimetres (12 in).

Distribution

Pogonoperca ocellata is an uncommon but widely distributed species in the Indian Ocean and marginally in the Western Pacific Ocean. It is found in Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles, Maldives, Andaman Islands, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Habitat and biology

Pogonoperca ocellata is found in relatively deep water, at depths greater than 25 metres (82 ft) where there are coral and rocky reefs.

Taxonomy

Pogonoperca ocellata was first formally described in 1859 by the German-born British zoologist Albert Günther (1830-1914) with the type locality not given. However, Mauritius is stated to be the type locality. When Günther described P. ocellata it was as the only species in the new genus Pogonoperca and it is, therefore, the type species of that genus.

Utiliasation

Pogonoperca ocellata is not utilised commercially vut is occasionally caught by hand line fisheries in the Seychelles.