Blackspot tuskfish facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Blackspot tuskfish
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Synonyms
Cossyphus schoenleinii Valenciennes, 1839 Cossyphus cyanostolus J. Richardson, 1846 Choerodon cyanostolus (J. Richardson, 1846) Cossyphus ommopterus J. Richardson, 1846 Choerops unimaculatus Cartier, 1874 Torresia australis Castelnau, 1875 Chaerops notatus Alleyne & Macleay, 1877 Torresia lineata De Vis, 1885 Choerops nyctemblema D. S. Jordan & Evermann, 1902 Choerodon rubidus T. D. Scott, 1959 Choerodon quadrifasciatus M. J. Yu, 1968

The blackspot tuskfish (Choerodon schoenleinii) is a wrasse native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean from Mauritius to Indonesia and Australia north to the Ryukyus. This species occurs on reefs, preferring areas with sandy substrates or areas of weed growth. It can be found at depths from 10 to 60 m (33 to 197 ft), though rarely deeper than 20 m (66 ft). It can reach 100 cm (39 in) in TL, and the greatest published weight for this species is 15.5 kg (34 lb). It is important to local commercial fisheries and is also farmed. It is popular as a game fish, in particular with spearfishers, and can be found in the aquarium trade.

In Hong Kong, its Cantonese name, tsing yi (Cantonese:青衣), has been given to an island (see Tsing Yi).

Blackspot tuskfish being sold as food while still alive in a market on Tsing Yi, the island mentioned in the text above. However, the fish are unlikely to be caught near the island, as the current marine environment around the island is too poor for them to live in because of urban development.

Etymology

The fish is named in honor of Johann Lucas Schönlein (1793-1864), the German naturalist and professor of medicine.

Documentation of tool use

In July 2011, a professional diver photographed a blackspot tuskfish bashing a clam on a rock to break the shell, apparently a use of the rock as a tool, the first documented example of tool use in wild fish.