Common Name: Bigscale Parma

Distribution: Abundant in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Western Pacific region: Cape Tribulation in northern Queensland south to Sydney in New South Wales.

Ecological Notes: Frequents exposed offshore coral and rocky reefs. Less common in high density coral areas. Depth 2 – 20 m.

Additional Notes: Dusky brown or grey with large scales, lacking any distinctive marks on the operculum as on the similar Parma microlepis adult. Distinct pairing during breeding, male guard and aerate eggs which adhere to the substrate. Colour highly variable between adults and juveniles, small juvenile bottom image. Grows to 17 cm.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.268.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=parma+oligolepis. Accessed 27/06/18.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/parma-oligolepis.html. Accessed 27/06/18.