bastard trumpeter

Latridopsis ciliaris

Fish
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth15–114 m
Water temperature11–18 °C
Best monthsJanuary, February, and March
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

About this species

Blue moki is a species of marine ray finned fish belonging to the family Latridae, the trumpeters. It is native to the southwestern Pacific Ocean around New Zealand and occasionally off southeastern Australia at depths of 10 metres (33 ft) and greater. Juveniles inhabit inshore waters, preferring rocky reefs while adults mostly occur in offshore waters forming schools over open bottoms. Some solitary adults can be found on reefs. This species can reach a length of 80 centimetres (31 in) FL, though most do not exceed 63 centimetres (25 in) TL. This species is commercially important and is also popular as a game fish.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Blue moki”, 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: 59 records
February: 61 records
March: 61 records
April: 43 records
May: 22 records
June: 12 records
July: 15 records
August: 18 records
September: 7 records
October: 45 records
November: 49 records
December: 42 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 15–114 m · Deepest record: 422 m

0–10 m: 24 records
10–20 m: 44 records
20–30 m: 63 records
30–40 m: 35 records
40–50 m: 49 records
50–60 m: 26 records
60–70 m: 27 records
70–80 m: 26 records
80–90 m: 30 records
90–100 m: 25 records
100–110 m: 18 records
110+ m: 46 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 11–18 °C

10–12 °C: 96 records
12–14 °C: 185 records
14–16 °C: 83 records
16–18 °C: 117 records
18–20 °C: 2 records

Photos

(c) Jenny Saito, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Jenny Saito, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) taylor h, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Andy McKay, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Richard Littauer, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Luca Davenport-Thomas, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: bastard trumpeter, Blue Moki

Names in 1 more languages

Japanese: ユメタカノハダイ

Other scientific names: Anthias ciliaris

Similar species

Bastard Trumpeter
Latridopsis forsteri
Deep Sea Perch
Nemadactylus macropterus
Banded Morwong
Chirodactylus spectabilis
Black Butterfish
Dactylophora nigricans
Crested Morwong
Goniistius vestitus
Common Trumpeter
Latris lineata

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).
510 open-data records from 1900 to 2018.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

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