Common Name: Goldspotted Sweetlips

Distribution: Common throughout the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Indo-West Pacific region: Red Sea south to South Africa and east to Papua New Guinea, north to southern Japan, south to western Australia and New South Wales. In Australia recorded from Perth in Western Australia, across the tropical north, the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland south to southern New South Wales and including Lord Howe Island.

Ecological Notes: Frequent coastal waters near sheltered reefs, lagoons and weedy areas, adults usually at moderate depths or in current channels, juveniles enter estuaries and harbours. Depth 2 – 25 m.

Additional Notes: Grey body with dense small gold spots, which may form wavy lines on the face. Related Dotted Sweetlips, Plectorhinchus picus has rusty red spots and distinct dark upper edge on the operculum. May sometimes be approached closely, especially at cleaning stations. Feed on small fishes, benthic crustaceans and other invertebrates. Distinct pairing during breeding, juveniles may be seen in estuaries and shallower protected coastal areas. Grows to 60 cm.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.168.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=Plectorhinchus+flavomaculatus. Accessed 01/07/18.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/Plectorhinchus-flavomaculatus.html. Accessed 01/07/18.