Heteroscarus acroptilus

Heteroscarus acroptilus
A male Rainbow Cale, Odax acroptilus
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Odacidae
Genus:	Heteroscarus Castelnau, 1872
Species:	H. acroptilus
Binomial name
Heteroscarus acroptilus (J. Richardson, 1846)
Synonyms
Scarus acroptilus J. Richardson, 1846 Odax acroptilus (J. Richardson, 1846) Heteroscarus filamentosus Castelnau, 1872 Heteroscarus modestus Castelnau, 1872 Pseudoscarus modestus Castelnau, 1875 Heteroscarus castelnaui W. J. Macleay, 1878 Heteroscarus elegans Steindachner, 1884 Heteroscarus tenuiceps De Vis, 1885 Heteroscarus macleayi McCoy, 1888

Heteroscarus acroptilus, the Rainbow cale, is a species of weed whiting endemic to Australia where it is found in marine waters along the southern coast. It inhabits rocky reefs that have plentiful growth of brown algae and also in beds of seagrass, particularly those of the genus Posidonia.^[2] It occurs at depths of from 1 to 15 metres (3.3 to 49.2 ft). This species grows to a length of 24 centimetres (9.4 in) SL. It can also be found in the aquarium trade. This species is the only known member of its genus.^[3]

References

1. Russell, B., Clements, K.D., Choat, J.H., Rocha, L.A., Myers, R., Lazuardi, M.E., Muljadi, A., Pardede, S. & Rahardjo, P. 2012. Heteroscarus acroptilus. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 09 March 2014.
2. Bray, Dianne. "Rainbow Cale, Odax acroptilus". Fishes of Australia. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
3. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2014). "Heteroscarus acroptilus" in FishBase. February 2014 version.