{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Speciesbox | name = Barber perch | image = Caesioperca_rasor_profile.jpg | image_alt = | image_caption = | taxon = Caesioperca rasor | authority = (Richardson, 1839) <ref name=WoRMS>{{cite WoRMS |author=Bailly, Nicolas |year=2014 |title=''Caesioperca rasor'' (Richardson, 1839) |id=280012 |accessdate=2014-02-24|db=}}</ref> | synonyms=*''Anthias rasor'' <small>Klunzinger, 1872</small> *''Lacepedia cataphracta''<small> Castelnau, 1873</small> *''Serranus rasor'' <small>Richardson, 1839</small> | synonyms_ref = <ref name=WoRMS/> }}
The '''barber perch''' ('''''Caesioperca rasor'''''), also called the '''barber sea perch''', '''red perch''' or '''Tasmanian barber''', is endemic to Australia, found from southern Victoria to southwestern Western Australia, including Tasmania.<ref name=Museum>[http://australianmuseum.net.au/Barber-Perch-Caesioperca-rasor-Richardson-1839 Barber Perch, ''Caesioperca rasor'' (Richardson, 1839)], Australian Museum, 19 May 2009.</ref>
==Description== The barber perch is a laterally compressed, deep-bodied fish growing to a maximum length of {{convert|26|cm|0|abbr=on}}. Females and larger juveniles are a pinkish colour with a large black vertical bar on the flank towards the posterior end and a blue streak just under the eye. Smaller juveniles additionally have a black head. Males are similarly marked but their overall hue is silvery or yellowish. They additionally have blue margins to the fins and a small blue spot on each scale.<ref name=Museum/>
It differs from the closely related Butterfly perch by having a more slender body and males are more blue with a darker bar, rather than blotch, on the side.<ref name=Fishes>{{cite web|last1=Bray|first1=Dianne|title=Barber Perch, Caesioperca rasor|url=https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/4372#moreinfo|website=Fishes of Australia|access-date=29 September 2014}}</ref> The two species sometimes form mixed shoals.<ref name=Fishes />
==Behaviour== The barber perch is a schooling species of fish which forms dense shoals at depths down to about {{convert|180|m|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name=FishBase>{{cite web |url=http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/speciesSummary.php?ID=14352&AT=Barber+perch |title= ''Caesioperca rasor'' (Richardson, 1839): Barber perch |work=FishBase |accessdate=2014-02-24}}</ref> It is largely a piscivore.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Bulman, C. |author2=Althaus, F. |author3=He, X. |author4=Bax, N. J. |author5=Williams, A. |year=2001 |title=Diets and trophic guilds of demersal fishes of the south-eastern Australian shelf |journal=Marine and Freshwater Research |volume=52 |issue=4 |pages=537–548 |doi=10.1071/MF99152 }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2482211}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:perch, barber}} barber perch Category:Endemic fauna of Australia Category:Taxa named by John Richardson (naturalist) barber perch