Common Name: Weeping Toadfish
Distribution: Abundant in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the eastern Indian Ocean. In Australia recorded from Exmouth in Western Australia, around the southern part of the continent and north to central Queensland on the east coast, and from Norfolk Island. No records from Tasmania.
Ecological Notes: Frequents sheltered areas, shallow estuaries, rock pools, seagrass flats, venturing into brackish water. Depth 1 – 30 m but usually shallow.
Additional Notes: Recognised by the dark longitudinal stripe, mottled dorsal surface with white belly. Has several vertical “tear” lines before and after the eye. Flesh and organs may be toxic and should not be eaten or given to pets. As with most toad and porcupine species may inflate its belly when caught on a line. Feeds on benthic crustaceans and molluscs. Grows to 21 cm.
References: Kuiter, R. H., Coastal Fishes of South-Eastern Australia. Published by Crawford House Press Pty. Ltd., 1993. p.419.
Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=Torquigener+pleurogramma. Accessed 11/07/18.
FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/Torquigener-pleurogramma.html. Accessed 11/07/18.