Scientific Name
Mesopristes cancellatus  
Pronounce  
Mesopristes cancellatus格紋中鋸鯻
by: Lab of Fish Ecol. and Evo., BRCAS
Author (Cuvier, 1829) Depth 1 - 25M
Chinese 格紋中鋸鯻 Poisonous Fish No 
Family_Chinese 鯻科 Economic Fish No 
Family F399 Terapontidae Edible Fish Yes  Chinese In Mainland China 格紋中鋸鯻 
Max Length 23 cm  Aquarium Fish No  Common Name 斑吾、雞仔魚、格紋島鯻、格紋雞魚 
Distribution in World Middle West Pacific Ocean   Distribution in Taiwan West 
Habitats Benthos、Estuary、Fresh Water、Coastal  Holotype Locality Java, Indonesia 
Synonyms Datnia cancellata, Terapon cancellatus, Therapon cancellata, Therapon cancellatus   
Reference 臺灣魚類誌(沈等, 1993)  Cuvier, G. etc. 1829 沈世傑 編 Shih-Chieh Shen ed. 1993 
Specimen List NMMBP02027. NMMBP05707. NMMBP05740. NMMBP05741. NMMBP05742. NMMBP05743. NTHUB03074.  
Common Name Tapiroid grunter 
Redlist Status NL Not in IUCN Redlist     
Characteristic Body moderately deep, distinctly compressed laterally. Upper jaw longer than lower jaw, increasingly so in larger specimens; upper jaw fleshy and forming a prominent fleshy pad with age. Teeth conical, outer row enlarged and followed by bands of villiform teeth in each jaw; vomer and palatines toothless. Preopercle serrate. First gill arch with 9 to 11 gill rakers on upper limb, 16 to 19 on lower limb. Dorsal fin with XI or XII spines and 10 or 11 soft rays; anal fin with III spines and 8 or 9 soft rays.Pore scales in lateral line 48 to 58. Dorsal portions of body grey, ventral part of body silvery to silvery white; body with 3 dark longitudinal stripes and with 5 dark oblique cross bars dorsal to uppermost stripe. Fins grey whitish to light yellow.
habitats Inhabits salt and brackish waters of bays and estuaries, penetrating into fresh water. Juveniles are sometimes found in streams within 5-10 km of the sea. 
Distribution From Sumatra eastward through rest of Indonesia, New Guinea, and Vanuatu to the Solomon Islands; north to the Philippines, Taiwan and Japan. It is very rare and only found from freshwater to brackish-water regions of rivers in southwestern Taiwan. 
Utility Food fish; marketed fresh.