Diamondscale mullet
Ellochelon vaigiensis (formerly Liza vaigiensis)
Illustration: Bloom by Day
An olive-brown mullet whose dark-edged scales make a chequerboard over the flank, finished with a square-cut yellow tail. It grazes in shallow water over sand and rubble in loose groups and is often the most numerous thing in a tidal creek.
how to recognise it
- dark scale margins forming a chequerboard pattern
- a YELLOW, square-cut tail
- olive-brown above with silvery sides and a whitish belly
- juveniles have black pectoral fins
don’t confuse with
- Pinkeye mullet — the pinkeye mullet has pale yellowish fins and a forked tail, a stout deep body, a small mouth and a small eye
Field marks read from Fishes of Australia, 2026-10-15. Our wording, their facts. Max size 70 cm TL.
facts
- habitat
- estuary
- size
- ~35 cm, to 70 cm
Max size from Fishes of Australia (70 cm TL); the typical size is Bluebird’s, not from a cited source
- records
- 12 at 2 spot(s), none of
them in this region
Recorded at Port Douglas (Outer GBR), Pumicestone Passage (Bribie — West). A count of occurrence records, not abundance. Records are where someone looked.
when it has been recorded
JFMAMJJASOND
A gap means no record in the sample, not absence.
the rule
QLD — Min: 30cm · Limit: 20
source
· verified 2026-10-10
no NSW rule listed — check before you dive
no closed season recorded for this species — that is not the same as open; check the official page
Rules checked 2026-10-13 against qld.gov.au
Rules change. Check before you dive.
Occurrence data: Atlas of Living Australia (ala.org.au), CC-BY 4.0.
Diver transect counts: Reef Life Survey (reeflifesurvey.com), CC-BY 4.0, supplied via ALA.
Target and protected species: Queensland tidal-water size and possession limits (qld.gov.au) and NSW saltwater bag and size limits plus threatened species lists (dpird.nsw.gov.au).
Habitat and size: Bluebird, approximate, from general knowledge. Not cited. FishBase is CC BY-NC and this app is commercial, so it is not used.
Description written for Bloom. RECORDS ARE WHERE SOMEONE LOOKED, NOT WHERE THE FISH ARE. A record count is a count of records near here and nothing else -- it is not abundance, and a species with few records is not rare. Absence of records is not absence of fish.
Diver transect counts: Reef Life Survey (reeflifesurvey.com), CC-BY 4.0, supplied via ALA.
Target and protected species: Queensland tidal-water size and possession limits (qld.gov.au) and NSW saltwater bag and size limits plus threatened species lists (dpird.nsw.gov.au).
Habitat and size: Bluebird, approximate, from general knowledge. Not cited. FishBase is CC BY-NC and this app is commercial, so it is not used.
Description written for Bloom. RECORDS ARE WHERE SOMEONE LOOKED, NOT WHERE THE FISH ARE. A record count is a count of records near here and nothing else -- it is not abundance, and a species with few records is not rare. Absence of records is not absence of fish.