Blackspot Tuskfish

Choerodon schoenleinii

Fish
IUCN: Near threatened

Usual depth10–40 m
Water temperature22–29 °C
Best monthsOctober
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Thomas Wilson, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The blackspot tuskfish is a wrasse native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean from Mauritius to Indonesia and Australia north to the Ryukyu Islands. This species occurs on reefs, preferring areas with sandy substrates or areas of weed growth. It can be found at depths from 10 to 60 m, though rarely deeper than 20 m (66 ft). It can reach 100 cm (39 in) in TL, and the greatest published weight for this species is 15.5 kg (34 lb). It is important to local commercial fisheries and is also farmed. It is popular as a game fish, in particular with spearfishers, and can be found in the aquarium trade.

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

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 43 records
February: 41 records
March: 38 records
April: 46 records
May: 52 records
June: 75 records
July: 58 records
August: 71 records
September: 59 records
October: 181 records
November: 54 records
December: 49 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 10–40 m · Deepest record: 78 m

0–10 m: 16 records
10–20 m: 42 records
20–30 m: 77 records
30–40 m: 48 records
40–50 m: 16 records
50–60 m: 6 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 22–29 °C

22–24 °C: 82 records
24–26 °C: 91 records
26–28 °C: 83 records
28–30 °C: 42 records

Photos

(c) Luke Lythgoe, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Vladislav Isaev, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Tim, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Thomas Wilson, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) desertnaturalist, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) 呂一起(Lyu yi-chi), some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Blackspot Tuskfish, Bluebone, Green Wrasse

Names in 2 more languages

Japanese: Shirokurabera, シロクラベラ
Simplified Chinese: 四齒仔, 石老, 西齒, 邵氏寒鯛, 邵氏豬齒魚, 青威, 青衣寒鯛

Other scientific names: Chaerodon schoenleini, Chaerops notatus, Choerodon cyanostolus, Choerodon quadrifasciatus, Choerodon rubidus, Choerodon schoenleini, Choerodon shoenleinii, Choerops nyctemblema, Choerops unimaculatus, Cossyphus cyanostolus, Cossyphus ommopterus, Cossyphus schoenleinii, Torresia australis, Torresia lineata

Similar species

Anchor Trunkfish
Choerodon anchorago
Choerodon typus
Black-blotch Tuskfish
Choerodon zosterophorus
White-patch Tuskfish
Choerodon oligacanthus
Eyebrow Tuskfish
Choerodon zamboangae
Blue Groper
Achoerodus gouldii

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).
1,015 open-data records from 1929 to 2023.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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