Cobbler

Gymnapistes marmoratus

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth1–35 m
Water temperature14–21 °C
Best monthsNovember
How commonCommon

Photo credit: (c) Peter Crowcroft, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Peter Crowcroft · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The South Australian cobbler, better known as the soldier but also known as the cobbler, devilfish or soldierfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a waspfish, belonging to the subfamily Tetraroginae which is classified within the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. It is endemic to southern Australia. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Gymnapistes.

Text from the Wikipedia article “South Australian cobbler”, 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: 91 records
February: 78 records
March: 112 records
April: 68 records
May: 40 records
June: 96 records
July: 116 records
August: 153 records
September: 213 records
October: 227 records
November: 492 records
December: 167 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–35 m · Deepest record: 48 m

0–10 m: 63 records
10–20 m: 8 records
20–30 m: 12 records
30–40 m: 26 records
40–50 m: 3 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 14–21 °C

12–14 °C: 14 records
14–16 °C: 67 records
16–18 °C: 17 records
18–20 °C: 34 records
20–22 °C: 6 records

Photos

(c) Peter Crowcroft, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Peter Crowcroft · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) James K. Douch, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Josh Nitschke, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Peter Crowcroft, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Lek Khauv, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Josh Nitschke, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Cobbler, devilfish, Soldier, Soldierfish, South Australian Cobbler

Other scientific names: Apistus marmoratus, Pentaroge marmorata

Similar species

Eastern Fortescue
Centropogon australis
bullrout
Notesthes robusta
waspfish
Paracentropogon longispinis
Redskinfish
Ablabys binotatus
Spiny Leaf-fish
Ablabys macracanthus
Cockatoo Fish
Ablabys taenianotus

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).
1,332 open-data records from 1868 to 2023.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.

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