Butterfly Gurnard, Lepidotrigla vanessa
Plate 5. Spiny-sided Butterfly-Gurnard, Lepidotrigla vanessa (now known as Butterfly Gurnard, Lepidotrigla vanessa) caught at Hobson's Bay
PZ 5.1 –
Pencil illustration - Lepidotrigla vanessa, The Spiny-sided Butterfly-Gurnard, Arthur Bartholomew
The only specimens I have seen of this beautiful fish were caught in Hobson's Bay in the month of August in different years. It inhabits deep water and feeds in small shells and Crustacea. Like most of the gurnards, it groans or makes a grunting noise when taken out of the water until it dies.
The beautiful coloring of this fish in the fresh state has not been represented before.