Neatypus obliquus Waite, 1905
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 western footballer (Neatypus obliquus), also known as the footballer sweep, is a species of ray-finned fish endemic to southern reefs of Australia, where it can be found down to 30 m (100 ft). It can also be found in the aquarium trade. This species is currently the only known member of its genus.
The compressed body is silvery-blue, with orange to yellow diagonal striping bordered by a brownish black; fins match the shade of yellowy-orange. They reach a maximum length of 22 cm (8.7 in).
It occurs near inshore and offshore reefs of the southern Australia coast in active and large schools. The range is from Shark Bay, to Flinders Island, South Australia. They feed on benthic zone invertebrates and zooplankton.
Other species of its family are known as footballers, for the similarity to footballer's striped jumpers.
Wikipedia contributors, Western footballer; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:17:14.100896+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Neatypus obliquus Waite, 1905
- Name authority
- Waite, 1905
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Centrarchiformes
- Family
- Kyphosidae
- Genus
- Neatypus
- 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
- orderCentrarchiformes
- familyKyphosidae Jordan, 1887
- subfamilyMicrocanthinae Bleeker, 1876
- genusNeatypus Waite, 1905
- speciesNeatypus obliquus Waite, 1905
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
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.
- Waite, E. R. (1905). Notes on fishes from Western Australia.--No. 3. Records of the Australian Museum, v. 6 (no. 2): 55–82, Pls. 8–17. 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:45YHN. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.