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Whitelegg's Weedfish

Heteroclinus whiteleggii

  • Fish
  • IUCN: Least concern
  • Usual depth0–1 m
  • Water temperature16–24 °C
  • Best monthsJanuary, March, and May
  • How commonRare
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Photo credit: (c) Niki Hubbard, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Heteroclinus whiteleggii, Whitelegg's weedfish, is a species of clinid native to reefs around New South Wales, Australia. This species can reach a maximum length of 10 centimetres (3.9 in) TL. The specific name honours the naturalist Thomas Whitelegge (1850–1927) who was a friend of Ogilby's friend and who collected the type.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Heteroclinus whiteleggii”, 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: 37 records
  • February: 23 records
  • March: 46 records
  • April: 22 records
  • May: 55 records
  • June: 11 records
  • July: 19 records
  • August: 16 records
  • September: 7 records
  • October: 8 records
  • November: 18 records
  • December: 24 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–1 m · Deepest record: 0.5 m

  • 0–10 m: 3 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 16–24 °C

  • 14–16 °C: 1 records
  • 16–18 °C: 5 records
  • 18–20 °C: 34 records
  • 20–22 °C: 66 records
  • 22–24 °C: 48 records

Names and classification

English
Whitelegg's Weedfish

Other scientific names: Clinus whiteleggii, Cristiceps fasciatus, Heteroclinus fasciatus, Heteroclinus whiteleggi

Similar species

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).
  • 306 open-data records from 1896 to 2014.
  • Species data updated November 3, 2026.

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