Common Name: Tarwhine

Distribution: Abundant throughout the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Widespread throughout the tropical and subtropical Indo-West Pacific region. In Australia recorded from around Exmouth to Esperance in southern Western Australia and from central Queensland to eastern Victoria. More common in the southern part of range.

Ecological Notes: Frequents coastal waters often entering estuaries and sometimes abundant in shallow water at the surf line or in rock pools. Depth to 60 m.

Additional Notes: Rounded forehead and thin yellow/brown lines on each scale row distinguish from the common Yellowfinned Bream, Acanthopagrus australis. Often in large schools they feed on benthic invertebrates and aquatic macrophytes. Grows to 45 cm. See video footage here by Tom Mair.

References: Kuiter, R. H., Coastal Fishes of South-Eastern Australia. Published by Crawford House Press Pty. Ltd., 1993. p.193.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=Rhabdosargus+sarba. Accessed 05/07/18.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/rhabdosargus-sarba.html. Accessed 05/07/18.