Herring Cale
Olisthops cyanomelas
- Usual depth5–10 m
- Water temperature14–23 °C
- Best monthsMarch, April, and June
- How commonCommon
Photo credit: (c) Suushathet, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
The herring cale is a species of ray-finned fish, a weed whiting from the family Labridae, which is endemic to Australia where it is found along the southern and southeastern coast. It inhabits the surf zone, ranging to a depth of 30 m (100 ft) in rocky areas with plentiful growth of brown algae, which it feeds on. This species grows to a length of 51 cm (20 in) SL. This species is the only known member of the genus Olisthops, but it has frequently been placed in Odax instead.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Herring cale”, 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: 216 records
- February: 166 records
- March: 268 records
- April: 232 records
- May: 188 records
- June: 307 records
- July: 71 records
- August: 68 records
- September: 53 records
- October: 101 records
- November: 107 records
- December: 132 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 5–10 m · Deepest record: 15 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 14–23 °C
Photos
(c) Peter Crowcroft, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Belinda Forbes, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Grady Duffy, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Tim, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Belinda Forbes, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Tim, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Valentin Moser, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Herring Cale
Names in 1 more languages
- Simplified Chinese
- 长纹滑岩鱚
Other scientific names: Odax cyanomelas, Odax nebulosus, Olistherops brownii, Olistherops brunneus
Similar species
Blue GroperAchoerodus gouldii
Blue GroperAchoerodus viridis
Hawaiian HogfishBodianus albotaeniatus
Tripletail wrasseCheilinus trilobatus
Blunt-head ParrotfishChlorurus microrhinos
Spectacled ParrotfishChlorurus perspicillatus
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).
- 5,196 open-data records from 1879 to 2023.
- Species data updated November 5, 2026.
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