banded galjoen
Dichistius multifasciatus
- Usual depth10–15 m
- Water temperature17–25 °C
- Best monthsJanuary and April
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Brian du Preez, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
About this species
Dichistius multifasciatus, the banded galjoen, is a species of ray-finned fish that occurs on the south and east coast of South Africa and also on Madagascar. The fish can reach a length of up to 35 cm and weigh 1.7 kg. The fish is brown/black with 15-20 brown vertical stripes and prefers the warmer waters. Occurs in turbulent rocky beaches.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Dichistius multifasciatus”, 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: 11 records
- February: 5 records
- March: 6 records
- April: 11 records
- May: 5 records
- June: 1 records
- July: 4 records
- August: 5 records
- September: 2 records
- October: 2 records
- November: 4 records
- December: 3 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 10–15 m · Deepest record: 15 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 17–25 °C
Photos
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Mahomed Desai, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Suvarna Parbhoo Mohan, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- banded galjoen, Bastard Galjoen
Other scientific names: Coracinus multifasciatus, Dipterodon multifasciatus, Drepanoscorpis gilchristi
Similar species
Black BreamDichistius capensis
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).
- 81 open-data records from 1917 to 2023.
- Species data updated November 2, 2026.
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