Males and Females are quite different in appearance. Females are by far more commonly encountered and usually have a brown to green back and a white underside, separated by a black stripe down the middle of the side. Juveniles and some females can appear darker and mottled, however, and the black stripe is not always present. ... source: Reef Life Survey
The Little Weed Whiting can be recognised by its colouration, which varies as the fish grows. Juvenile or initial phase fish are typically greenish brown above and whitish below, with a dark stripe along the midline. Terminal phase Little Weed Whiting have a blueish-grey to green body. The head has yellow to red and blue wavy lines that extend onto the body in larger specimens. ... source: Australian Museum Factsheets
| RLS profile v3 | |
| IUCN_Threat_status: | Least Concern |
| Abundance: | 8.088 |
| Common_Name: | Little weed whiting;Little rock whiting |
| Life_History: | Sexually dichromatic, but little known of its life history. |
| similar_species: | Females are similar to Halichoeres brownfieldi. These species only overlap in distribution in SW Australia, where the latter is much more abundant. N. balteatus females have a black stripe along the side, a light underside rather than distinct white stripe and lack ocelli on the fins. |
| Depth: | 0-20 m |
| Range: | 471.040 |
| Diet: | Benthic invertebrates |
| Max_size: | 140 mm |
| Invasive: | Not known to be invasive |
| Behaviour: | Females and juveniles sometimes form loose aggregations over seagrass. |
| Frequency: | 8.549 |
| Habitat: | Rocky reef and seagrass |
| Description: | Males and Females are quite different in appearance. Females are by far more commonly encountered and usually have a brown to green back and a white underside, separated by a black stripe down the middle of the side. Juveniles and some females can appear darker and mottled, however, and the black stripe is not always present. Males are uniformly green to brown, sometimes with a reddish tinge. They have a bright blue ring around their eyes and a fine blue edge to dorsal and anal fins. |
| Commercial_Uses: | None, other than trivial captures for aquarium trade |
| Threats: | No major threats to this species are known |
| Distribution: | Southern coasts of Australia from south-west to south-east. |
| Accepted name | Source |
|---|---|
| Neoodax balteatus |
| Synonyms | Source |
|---|---|
| Odax algensis Richardson, 1840 | |
| Published in: Richardson, J. 1840. On some new species of fishes from Australia. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. Vol. 8 pp. 25-30 | |
| Odax balteatus Valenciennes, 1840 | |
| Published in: Valenciennes, A. in Cuvier, G.L. & Valenciennes, A. 1840. Histoire Naturelle des Poissons Paris : Levrault Vol. 14 pp. 464 pp. pls 389-420 | |
| Odax obscurus Castelnau, 1872 | |
| Published in: Castelnau, F.L. de 1872. Contribution to the ichthyology of Australia. 1. The Melbourne fish market. Proc. Zool. Acclim. Soc. Vict. Vol. 1 pp. 29-242 1 pl. | |
| Neoodax waterhousii Castelnau, 1875 | |
| Published in: Castelnau, F.L. de 1875. Researches on the fishes of Australia. Intercolonial Exhibition Essays. 2. pp. 1–52 in, Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876 : Official Record. Melbourne | |
| Odax brunneus Macleay, 1881 | |
| Published in: Macleay, W.J. 1881. Descriptive catalogue of the fishes of Australia. Part 3. Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. Ser. 1 Vol. 6 (1) pp. 1-138 pls 1-2 | |
| Common name | Source |
|---|---|
| Little Weed Whiting | |
| Little Rock Whiting | |
| Ground Mullet |
View list of all occurrence records for this taxon
