Common Weedfish
Heteroclinus perspicillatus
- Usual depth1–4 m
- Water temperature14–18 °C
- Best monthsMarch, November, and December
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) Christopher Mark, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Heteroclinus perspicillatus, the common weedfish, is a species of clinid native to southern Australia where it is found in seagrass beds and rocky reefs at depths of up to 10 metres (33 ft). This species can reach a maximum length of 20 centimetres (7.9 in) TL.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Heteroclinus perspicillatus”, 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: 89 records
- February: 91 records
- March: 100 records
- April: 76 records
- May: 26 records
- June: 38 records
- July: 17 records
- August: 21 records
- September: 21 records
- October: 72 records
- November: 124 records
- December: 128 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 1–4 m · Deepest record: 11.5 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 14–18 °C
Photos
(c) Christopher Mark, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Grady Duffy, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) ttsquid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Lawrence Hylton, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Peter Crowcroft, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Tim, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) Tim, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Common Weedfish, Robust Weedfish, Spotshoulder Weedfish
Other scientific names: Clinus despicillatus, Clinus perspicillatus, Cristiceps robustus, Neoblennius fasciatus
Similar species
Common WeedfishHeteroclinus heptaeolus
Johnston's WeedfishHeteroclinus johnstoni
Kuiters WeedfishHeteroclinus kuiteri
Rosy weedfishHeteroclinus roseus
Forster's WeedfishHeteroclinus tristis
Whitelegg's WeedfishHeteroclinus whiteleggii
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).
- 813 open-data records from 1899 to 2015.
- Species data updated November 3, 2026.
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