Common Name: Old Wife

Distribution: Common in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Endemic to Australia, ranges from southern Queensland to central Western Australia, including northern Tasmania.

Ecological Notes: Frequent a wide variety of habitats including estuaries and shallow coastal reefs. Depths to 90 m.

Additional Notes: Adults are silver to brown with black vertical stripes. Juveniles inhabit estuaries, are more elongated and have a blotchy rather than striped pattern. Adults are wide ranging, usually found in pairs and only occasionally found in large numbers. Easily approached, there are sharp spines on dorsal and anal fins. Dorsal spines contain poison and may cause severe pain. Enoplosus in a monotypic genus, this being the only species in the family. Grow to 25 cm. 

References: Kuiter, R. H., Coastal Fishes of South-Eastern Australia. Published by Crawford House Press Pty. Ltd., 1993. p.248.
FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/Enoplosus-armatus.html. Accessed 25/05/18.