Goldribbon soapfish

Goldribbon soapfish
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Serranidae
Subfamily:	Epinephelinae
Tribe:	Diploprionini
Genus:	Aulacocephalus; Temminck & Schlegel, 1843
Species:	A. temminckii
Binomial name
	Aulacocephalus temminckii; Bleeker, 1854
Synonyms
	Aulacocephalus schlegelii Günther, 1859; Centropristis saponaceus Valenciennes, 1862; Aulacocephalus saponaceus (Valenciennes, 1862);

The goldribbon soapfish (Aulacocephalus temminckii), also known as the goldribbon cod, blue and gold soapfish, gold ribbon grouper or goldstripe groper, is a species of marine

Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is found in the Indo-Pacific

region.

Description

The goldribbon soapfish is a deep blue coloured grouper which has a bold yellow stripe which runs from the stripe through the eye and along the back to the base of the

anal fin has 3 spines and 9 soft rays. This species attains a maximum standard length of 40 centimetres (16 in).^[2]

Distribution

The goldribbon soapfish has a wide, disjunct Indo-Pacific distribution. It occurs in the northern

Western Pacific Ocean it is found as far north as the Ryukyu Islands of southern Japan, off Korea, Taiwan and southern China. It has been recorded off Thailand and in the Philippines. It also occurs off Australia and New Zealand, Norfolk Island and in French Polynesia.^[1]

Habitat and biology

The goldribbon soapfish is found on rocky reefs where it lives in caves and underneath crevices,[3] at depths of 20 to 604 metres (66 to 1,982 ft).^[1] It is a carnivorous species which feeds on fishes and crustaceans.^[4] These fish have a toxin, grammistin, which is produced in their skin and which has a bitter taste, the production of the toxin is increased when the fish is threatened.^[3]

Taxonomy

The goldribbon soapfish was first formally

ichthyologist Hermann Schlegel (1804-1884) and was originally described without any species until Bleeker added this species.^[6] The generic name is a compound of the Greek aulos which means "flute" and kephales which means "head".^[2]