Javelin grunter

Pomadasys kaakan, the javelin grunter or barred javelin is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grunt belonging to the family Haemulidae. It is native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans, from Africa to Australia.

Habitat

Pomadasys kaakan is found in turbid waters near the coast where the substrate consists of sand or mud to depths of 75 metres (246 ft). They will enter estuarine environments, and they may be able tolerate water with low salinity. Frequently found in and around inshore shipwrecks. They are also known from coral and rocky reefs. They spawn in shoals near river mouths during the winter. They are oviparous and form distinct pairs to spawn. Their diet is largely crustaceans, and they are known to feed on fishes, molluscs, brittle stars, Lingula sp. and algae.

Distribution

Pomadasys kaakan is found in the Indo-Pacific. It ranges along the eastern coast of Africa from the Red Sea to the Eastern Cape, along the southern coast of Asia, including the Persian Gulf, to China and Taiwan and along the northern coasts of Australia from Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia to Moreton Bay in Queensland. It is also found in Comoro Islands, Madagascar, the Seychelles and the Farquhar Islands.