Old Wives (Enoplosus armatus) in Golden Kelp

The Old Wife is the only species representing the Enoplosidae family and is endemic to Australian waters from southern Queensland to south-western Western Australia. The Old Wife has a striking appearance with its silvery-white body with vertical black bands, two tall separate dorsal fins and inside the eye a bright yellow/orange iris. These dorsal fins encase a spine that contains venom which can cause severe pain. Juvenile Old Wives inhabit seagrass beds in estuaries and as they mature move onto coastal reefs able to form large schools, which break into pairs when a suitable habitat is found for spawning. Very rarely are they observed solitary. They produce pelagic eggs which drift in the water column. Old Wives are a carnivorous species, feeding on a diet of small crustaceans. The common name “old wife” was given to the species by early sailors, they believed the grunting noise the fish made when caught sounded something like the nagging of an old woman!