South Australian cobbler

The South Australian cobbler (Gymnapistes marmoratus), often called "cobbler", "estuary cobbler" or soldier in Australia, is a brown coloured fish that lives in estuaries in southern Australia, both on the eastern (New South Wales) and western (Western Australia - near Perth) coasts. It grows to around 22 cm in length. Its pectoral and dorsal fins have embedded spines which contain venom. Puncture wounds from these spines can be very painful.[1]

South Australian cobbler
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Tetrarogidae
Genus: Gymnapistes
Swainson, 1839
Species:
G. marmoratus
Binomial name
Gymnapistes marmoratus
(G. Cuvier, 1829)

The species is found in estuaries and silty bays. This species lies motionless through the day, becoming active at night, when the smaller ones eat shrimp and crabs, while the larger cobblers eat other fish. They spawn in August and September.

Another cobbler is an unrelated species of catfish, also found in Australia. Some species of Trachinotus are also called "cobblers" in the Caribbean.

References
  1. Soldier, Gymnapistes marmoratus (Cuvier, 1829) The Australian Museum. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  • FishBase entry for Gymnapistes marmoratus
  • "Gymnapistes marmoratus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
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