(Image credit: Dave Welsch)

Distinctive elongated head with large pointed canine-like teeth and a slender, cylindrical body. Colour varies from dark green to blue-grey. The underside is generally a lighter shade of green/grey. The tail is deeply forked and has a pale yellow colouration in some individuals. When erect the dorsal fin can have dark spots along the base.

The green jobfish has a cylindrical, torpedo shaped body with distinctive elongated head and large teeth. Scales are large diamond shaped are visible along the body but become smaller and less distinct on the head.

The colour varies but is generally an olive green to bluish-grey. The belly and lower parts of the caudal fin are a lighter shade. The caudal fin is deeply forked and can have a yellow tinge. When up, the dorsal fin may have dark spots along its base.

This species has been known to cause ciguatera (a type of food poisoning).

Length: Up to 1 m

Habitat

Outer reefs; 11-100 m depth

Log it

Log it in NSW if spotted in Solitary Islands and south

Related links/info

Species names on the Redmap site are based on the Codes for Australian Aquatic Biota or CAAB (http://www.cmar.csiro.au/caab/). This is updated regularly and lists the approved common name, family, species name and more.

Redmap species descriptions were based, with permission, on the following resources:

Australian Marine Life: The Plants and Animals of Temperate Waters by G. J. Edgar, Revised Ed. (2008) Reed Books, Melbourne

Fishes of Australia’s Southern Coast, Edited by M. Gomon. D. Bray and R. Kuiter (2008) Reed Books, Melbourne

Find further information and images at FISHES OF AUSTRALIA http://www.fishesofaustralia.net.au/

http://www.fishbase.us/summary/Aprion-virescens.html

Randall, John; Allen, Gerald; Steen, Roger (1997). Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. University of Hawaii Press. p. 164. ISBN 0-8248-1895-4.