Latropiscis purpurissatus (Richardson, 1843)
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
Latropiscis purpurissatus, the sergeant baker, is a species of flagfin endemic to Australia. This species grows to a total length of 60.0 centimetres (23.6 in), and is the only known member of its genus. The Australian Museum suggests that the sergeant baker is named after Sergeant William Baker who served as Admiral Arthur Phillip's orderly sergeant. He may have been the first colonist to catch this fish species. Sergeant Baker sailed to Australia aboard the transport ship Charlotte as a Corporal of Marines.
Sergeant bakers are commonly found in Australia's warm southern waters between Queensland and Western Australia, dwelling on the bottom of coastal and deep-reef environments. They readily take bait or lures, but are generally considered poor eating.
Wikipedia contributors, Latropiscis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:00:10.626342+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Latropiscis purpurissatus (Richardson, 1843)
- Name authority
- (Richardson, 1843)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Aulopiformes
- Family
- Aulopidae
- Genus
- Latropiscis
- 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
- orderAulopiformes
- suborderAulopoidei
- familyAulopidae Bonaparte, 1831
- genusLatropiscis Whitley, 1931
- speciesLatropiscis purpurissatus (Richardson, 1843)
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 |
|---|---|
| Hime purpurissatus (Richardson, 1843) (Richardson, 1843) | synonym |
| Aulopus milesi Valenciennes, 1850 Valenciennes, 1850 | synonym |
| Aulopus milesii Valenciennes, 1850 Valenciennes, 1850 | synonym |
| Aulopus purpurissatus Richardson, 1843 Richardson, 1843 | synonym |
| Hime purpurissata (Richardson, 1843) (Richardson, 1843) | synonym |
| Latropiscus purpurissatus (Richardson, 1843) (Richardson, 1843) | 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=318742 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:3SLXG. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.