Purple tuskfish
Choerodon cephalotes
Illustration: Bloom by Day
A greenish-brown tuskfish whose scales are each edged in blue, which at distance reads as uneven banding, with orange cheek spots and blue-and-orange stripes across the forehead. It works seagrass and sand edges in bays, digging, and shows the blue tusks when it turns.
how to recognise it
- body scales edged with blue, which gives the side an uneven banded look
- the forehead crossed by four or five sets of alternating blue and orange stripes
- many small orange spots on the cheek
- greenish-brown above, creamy-white below
- NO small prominent black spot on the side
don’t confuse with
- Blue tuskfish — the blue tuskfish has a large pale patch below the rear of the dorsal fin and blue tips on the tail lobes
- Graphic tuskfish — the graphic tuskfish is banded, with 5 to 7 broad dusky bands and a dark spot on the lateral line
- Anchor tuskfish — the anchor tuskfish has a black band encircling the pectoral-fin base
Field marks read from Fishes of Australia, 2026-10-15. Our wording, their facts. Max size 35+ cm TL.
facts
- habitat
- sand
- size
- ~30 cm, to null cm
Max size from Fishes of Australia (35+ cm TL); the typical size is Bluebird’s, not from a cited source
- records near here
- 9 at 2 of 6 spots
A count of occurrence records near these spots, not abundance. Records are where someone looked.
when it has been recorded
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A gap means no record in the sample, not absence.
the rule
QLD — Min: 30cm · Combined limit: 6 in total of all tuskfish species
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.