Spotted soapfish
(Pogonoperca punctata)
General data
Pogonoperca punctata, the spotted soapfish, bearded soapfish or leaflip grouper is a species of marine ray-finned fish, related to the groupers and classified within the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae. It is found in the western Indo-Pacific region.
Pogonoperca punctata has 7 spines in its dorsal fin and 12-13 soft rays with 3 spines and 8 soft rays in the anal fin.
The brown body is covered in small white spots, and there is a black vertical bar which runs through the eye and four black saddle-like blotches along the back.
There is flap of skin on the lower jaw.
The juveniles have large white spots, which remain part of the patterns as adults but become increasingly obscured by smaller small white spots appearing in the grey coloured regions of the body as the fish matures. The fins are transparent.
This species attains a maximum recorded total length of 35 centimetres (14 in).
Pogonoperca punctata is found in the western Indo-Pacific from eastern Indonesia east to the Line Islands, Marquesas and the Society Islands, north as far as southern Japan and south to New Caledonia and islands off northern Australia, these being Evans Shoal in the Northern Territory and the eastern Indian Ocean Australian territories of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
