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blotched podge

Aporops bilinearis

  • Fish
  • IUCN: Least concern
  • Usual depth1–11 m
  • Water temperature24–30 °C
  • Best monthsMay, July, and September
  • How commonRare
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About this species

The blotched podge is a species of marine ray-finned fish, related to the groupers and classified within the family Grammistidae. It is found in shallow water in reefs and it is a solitary and rather cryptic species. It is found at depths between 1 and 35 metres from the eastern coast of Africa through the Indian Ocean east into the Pacific Ocean where its range extends as far as Johnston Atoll, Hawaii, the Line Islands and the Marquesas Islands, north to Japan and south to Australia. It is the only species in the genus Aporopos.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Blotched podge”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

  • January: 13 records
  • February: 11 records
  • March: 5 records
  • April: 13 records
  • May: 27 records
  • June: 17 records
  • July: 33 records
  • August: 23 records
  • September: 30 records
  • October: 21 records
  • November: 20 records
  • December: 3 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–11 m · Deepest record: 35 m

  • 0–10 m: 150 records
  • 10–20 m: 23 records
  • 20–30 m: 1 records
  • 30–40 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 24–30 °C

  • 22–24 °C: 1 records
  • 24–26 °C: 21 records
  • 26–28 °C: 93 records
  • 28–30 °C: 116 records

Names and classification

English
blotched podge, Leopard Podge, Poreless podge, Twolined soapfish
Names in 2 more languages
Japanese
Yamatotogemegisu, ヤマトトゲメギス
Simplified Chinese
擬鮗, 肥皂魚, 雙線少孔紋鯛, 雙線擬鮗

Other scientific names: Aporops allfreei, Aporops japonicus, Pseudogramma bilinearis

Similar species

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

  • Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
  • Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
  • Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
  • 381 open-data records from 1946 to 2023.
  • Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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