Common Name: Spotted Scat

Distribution: Uncommon in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific region, from Kuwait to Fiji, north to southern Japan, south to New Caledonia. Also reported from Samoa, Tonga and the Society Islands. In Australia recorded from north of Exmouth in Western Australia, across the tropical north, including the Gulf of Carpentaria, coastal Queensland south to Sydney in New South Wales.

Ecological Notes: Prefers estuarine conditions, marine, brackish and freshwater in lower reaches of streams, rivers, estuaries and embayments. Mangrove areas. Feeds on crustaceans, worms, insects and plant matter. Depth to 5 m.

Additional Notes: Silvery greenish-yellow in colour, roughly quandrangular in shape with steeply sloping forehead. Juveniles with few large dark spots or bars, older adults dark spots may be faded and confined to rear section of flanks. Grows to 38 cm.

References: FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://www.fishbase.ca/summary/Scatophagus-argus.html. Accessed 13/04/2020.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=Scatophagus+argus. Accessed 13/04/2020.