Olisthops cyanomelas Richardson, 1850
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 herring cale (Olisthops cyanomelas) is a species of ray-finned fish, a weed whiting from the family Labridae, which is endemic to Australia where it is found along the southern and southeastern coast. It inhabits the surf zone, ranging to a depth of 30 m (100 ft) in rocky areas with plentiful growth of brown algae, which it feeds on. This species grows to a length of 51 cm (20 in) SL. This species is the only known member of the genus Olisthops, but it has frequently been placed in Odax instead.
Wikipedia contributors, Herring cale; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:24:15.472646+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Olisthops cyanomelas Richardson, 1850
- Name authority
- Richardson, 1850
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Family
- Labridae
- Genus
- Olisthops
- 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
- genusOlisthops Richardson, 1850
- speciesOlisthops cyanomelas Richardson, 1850
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 |
|---|---|
| Olistherops brunneus MacLeay, 1878 MacLeay, 1878 | synonym |
| Odax cyanomelas (Richardson, 1850) (Richardson, 1850) | synonym |
| Odax nebulosus Saville-Kent, 1893 Saville-Kent, 1893 | synonym |
| Olistherops brownii Johnston, 1884 Johnston, 1884 | 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.
- Richardson, J. (1850). Notices of Australian fish. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1850, (pt 18) (art. 1) (for 9 Apr. 1850): 58–77, Pls. 1–3. 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:49887. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.