Lotella rhacina (Forster, 1801)
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
The rock cod (Lotella rhacina) is a temperate fish found off the coasts of southeastern Australia, Tasmania, the Great Australian Bight and northwards up the southwestern Australia coasts. They are also found around the coasts of New Zealand and California. They belong to the family Moridae and are not related to the true cods (genus Gadus). They are also known as beardie in Australia.
Rock cod are yellow-grey to red-brown with white fin margins. They have chin barbels. They may grow up to 50 cm in length. They are found in caves in bays and coastal reefs. They are frequently found inshore and inhabit shallow waters in the continental shelf with typical depth of 10 to 90 m.
Many other fish species are sometimes called 'rock cod', but most are unrelated to the cod family, and are better known as groupers.
Wikipedia contributors, Rock cod; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:04:50.562111+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Lotella rhacina (Forster, 1801)
- Name authority
- (Forster, 1801)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Gadiformes
- Family
- Moridae
- Genus
- Lotella
- 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
- orderGadiformes
- familyMoridae Moreau, 1881
- genusLotella Kaup, 1858
- speciesLotella rhacina (Forster, 1801)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Lotella. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Lotella latidorsalis Schwarzhans, Lee & Gard, 2017 | MoridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Lotella matata Schwarzhans, 2019 | MoridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Lotella fernandeziana Rendahl, 1921 | MoridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lotella phycis (Temminck & Schlegel, 1846) | MoridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lotella tosaensis (Kamohara, 1936) | MoridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Lotella callarias Günther, 1863 Günther, 1863 | synonym |
| Lotella rhacinus (Forster, 1801) (Forster, 1801) | synonym |
| Gadus rhacinus Forster, 1801 Forster, 1801 | synonym |
| Lotella fuliginosa Günther, 1862 Günther, 1862 | synonym |
| Lotella macleayi Rendahl, 1921 Rendahl, 1921 | synonym |
| Lotella marginata MacLeay, 1881 MacLeay, 1881 | ambiguous synonym |
| Lotella swanii Johnston, 1883 Johnston, 1883 | synonym |
| Gadum rhacinum Forster, 1801 Forster, 1801 | synonym |
| Lotella limbata Ogilby, 1886 Ogilby, 1886 | 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=281403 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:3W7LN. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.