Red Morwong

Morwong fuscus

Fish
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth2–25 m
Water temperature17–24 °C
Best monthsJanuary, February, and December
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Austen Armstrong, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The red morwong, also known as the sea carp, is a species of marine ray finned fish traditionally regarded as belonging to the family Cheilodactylidae, the members of which are commonly known as morwongs. It is found off southeast Australia and the North Island of New Zealand from shallow depths to at least 55 m, on rocky reef and coastal areas. Its length is between 30 and 60 cm.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Red morwong”, 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: 415 records
February: 329 records
March: 293 records
April: 279 records
May: 198 records
June: 238 records
July: 167 records
August: 199 records
September: 240 records
October: 274 records
November: 247 records
December: 328 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 2–25 m · Deepest record: 62 m

0–10 m: 21 records
10–20 m: 1 records
20–30 m: 1 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 1 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 17–24 °C

16–18 °C: 2 records
18–20 °C: 6 records
20–22 °C: 18 records
22–24 °C: 8 records
24–26 °C: 1 records

Photos

(c) Dave Shenton, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Valentin Moser, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Bryce Watts-Parker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) neilfws, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Tim, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Tim, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Red Morwong, Sea Carp

Names in 2 more languages

German: Fingerflosser
Simplified Chinese: 灰唇指䱵

Other scientific names: Cheilodactylus annularis, Cheilodactylus fuscus, Goniistius fuscus

Similar species

Painted Morwong
Morwong ephippium
Deep Sea Perch
Nemadactylus macropterus
Banded Morwong
Chirodactylus spectabilis
Black Butterfish
Dactylophora nigricans
Crested Morwong
Goniistius vestitus
bastard trumpeter
Latridopsis ciliaris

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).
126 open-data records from 1906 to 2023.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

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