Heteroscarus acroptilus (Richardson, 1846)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Heteroscarus acroptilus, the rainbow cale, is a species of weed whiting endemic to Australia where it is found in marine waters along the southern coast. It inhabits rocky reefs that have plentiful growth of brown algae and also in beds of seagrass, particularly those of the genus Posidonia. It occurs at depths of from 1 to 15 metres (3.3 to 49.2 ft). This species grows to a length of 24 centimetres (9.4 in) SL. It can also be found in the aquarium trade. This species is the only known member of its genus.
Wikipedia contributors, Rainbow cale; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:48:01.711826+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Heteroscarus acroptilus (Richardson, 1846)
- Name authority
- (Richardson, 1846)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Family
- Labridae
- Genus
- Heteroscarus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- familyLabridae Cuvier, 1816
- subfamilyHypsigenyinae Günther, 1861
- tribeOdacini Günther, 1861
- genusHeteroscarus Castelnau, 1872
- speciesHeteroscarus acroptilus (Richardson, 1846)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Heteroscarus castelnaui MacLeay, 1878 MacLeay, 1878 | synonym |
| Heteroscarus elegans Steindachner, 1884 Steindachner, 1884 | synonym |
| Heteroscarus filamentosus Castelnau, 1872 Castelnau, 1872 | synonym |
| Odax acroptilus (Richardson, 1846) (Richardson, 1846) | synonym |
| Pseudoscarus modestus Castelnau, 1875 Castelnau, 1875 | synonym |
| Heteroscarus macleayi McCoy, 1888 McCoy, 1888 | synonym |
| Heteroscarus modestus Castelnau, 1872 Castelnau, 1872 | synonym |
| Heteroscarus tenuiceps De Vis, 1885 De Vis, 1885 | synonym |
| Scarus acroptilus Richardson, 1846 Richardson, 1846 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=713598 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3LDKG. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.