Black-arse

Epinephelides armatus

Fish
IUCN: Near threatened

Usual depth4–17 m
Water temperature19–22 °C
Best monthsFebruary, April, and December
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Grady Duffy, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The breaksea cod, black-arse cod or tiger cod, is a species of marine ray-finned fish in the family Anthiadidae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are open seas, shallow seas, subtidal aquatic beds, and coral reefs. This species is the only member of its genus.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Breaksea cod”, 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: 25 records
February: 30 records
March: 25 records
April: 39 records
May: 13 records
June: 11 records
July: 7 records
August: 17 records
September: 6 records
October: 14 records
November: 18 records
December: 27 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 4–17 m · Deepest record: 90 m

0–10 m: 8 records
10–20 m: 3 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 19–22 °C

18–20 °C: 13 records
20–22 °C: 18 records
22–24 °C: 3 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Black-arse, Black-arse Cod, Black-arsed Cod, Break-sea Cod, Breaksea Cod, Breaksea Rock Cod, Tiger Cod

Names in 1 more languages

Simplified Chinese: 紫身仿石斑魚

Other scientific names: Epinephelides leai, Epinephelus armatus, Serranus armatus

Similar species

Butterfly Perch
Caesioperca lepidoptera
Barber Perch
Caesioperca rasor
Longfin anthias
Caprodon longimanus
Amethyst Anthias
Mirolabrichthys pascalus
Purple Anthias
Mirolabrichthys tuka
Hucht's fairy basslet
Pseudanthias huchtii

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).
230 open-data records from 1958 to 1985.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.

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