Broadbanded cardinalfish (Ostorhinchus fasciatus)

Classification (WoRMS)

Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Chordata · Class: Teleostei · Order: Apogoniformes · Family: Apogonidae · Genus: Ostorhinchus.

Accepted name: Ostorhinchus fasciatus · Authority: (White, 1790) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 712656.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Amia elizabethae Jordan & Seale, 1905; Amia quadrifasciata (Cuvier, 1828); Apogon elizabethae (Jordan & Seale, 1905); Apogon evanidus Fowler, 1904; Apogon fasciatus (White, 1790); Apogon monogramma Günther, 1880; Apogonichthyes quadrifasciatus (Cuvier, 1828); Apogonicthyes quadrifasciatus (Cuvier, 1828); Mullus fasciatus White, 1790.

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=712656 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Biology and life history (FishBase)

Measured values published by FishBase for Ostorhinchus fasciatus. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.

Maximum length: 12.600000381469727 cm · Common length: 7 cm · Depth range: 2–128 m · Habitat zone: reef-associated · Body shape: short and / or deep · Vulnerability index: 10 of 100 · Fishery importance: of no interest.

FishBase notes: Inhabits coastal reefs, in sandy or weedy areas (Ref. 9710). Nocturnal. Juveniles often occur with sea anemones (Ref. 37816).

Source: FishBase species summary (SpecCode 6605) — https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Ostorhinchus-fasciatus.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

6,234 georeferenced occurrence records for Ostorhinchus fasciatus are published through GBIF from 47 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 191 distinct locations from a sample of 3,000 records, omitting 49 inland records that carry an institution's coordinates rather than a collection site; it shows where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.

Most records by country or area: Australia (5,333); Chinese Taipei (160); Israel (103); China (73); Philippines (73).

The full country table, WoRMS marine regions and the sampling notes are on this species' Distribution page.

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 7193045) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=7193045&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=712656 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Conservation status (IUCN Red List)

The IUCN Red List assesses Ostorhinchus fasciatus (Shaw, 1790) as Least Concern (code LC). No trend, population estimate or threat analysis is given here, because none is available from this source without the Red List API; follow the source link for the full assessment, including its date.

Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (taxon 46079018) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/46079018/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 7193045) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/7193045/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

Ostorhinchus fasciatus is an ovoid shaped fish with large eyes, a blunt snout, a large, oblique mouth which reaches the eye and a forked caudal fin. The body shows slight ventral compression. In colour it is a generally white to pinkish grey in colour with two dark stripes on the dorsal half of body: one is a broad, plain stripe either side of the lateral line from the tip of the snout to the central rays of the caudal fin; the second is a narrower stripe starting above eye and reaching to the upper part of the caudal peduncle. It frequently has an incomplete dusky stripe which lies between the two main stripes. Its colour fades to silvery white on the posterior portion of the belly. It has two dorsal fins, the first of which has a tiny spine at the front with the second and third spines being much longer. The anal fin lies directly below the posterior dorsal fin. The colour of the fins is pinkish-orange and larger fish have a line of brown spots on the membranes of second dorsal fin and the anal fin.

Ostorhinchus fasciatus has a natural distribution which is Indo-West Pacific from the Red Sea and Persian Gulf south to Mozambique in the west, eastwards through the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific where it occurs as far north as Japan and as far south as Sydney. Also present in the eastern Basin of the Mediterranean Sea since its first appearance off Israel in 2009, it is now very common from Egypt to Turkey.

Ostorhinchus fasciatus is a nocturnal species which spends the day among rocks and corals and emerges into more open areas at night to feed on zooplankton. It is a paternal mouthbrooder: the male incubates the eggs in his mouth. In Australia it is known to be preyed upon by the greater crested tern, little pied cormorant and Australian pied cormorant. It is known to be a host of the endoparasitic trematode worms Macvicaria shotteri and Opegaster queenslandicus.

Ostorhinchus fasciatus was originally described as Mullus fasciatus by the Surgeon-General of New South Wales John White in 1790 in his book Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales. The type locality was Port Jackson.

Source: Wikipedia: Ostorhinchus fasciatus — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostorhinchus_fasciatus (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.