science

South Australian cobbler

South Australian cobbler is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand South Australian cobbler rather than just read about it. In short: The South Australian cobbler (Gymnapistes marmoratus), better known as the soldier but also known as the cobbler, devilfish or soldierfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a waspfish, belonging to the subfamily Tetraroginae which is classified within the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. It is endemic to southern Australia.

Key takeaways

South Australian cobbler belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect South Australian cobbler to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of South Australian cobbler from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The South Australian cobbler (Gymnapistes marmoratus), better known as the soldier but also known as the cobbler, devilfish or soldierfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a waspfish, belonging to the subfamily Tetraroginae which is classified within the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. It is endemic to southern Australia. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Gymnapistes.

Taxonomy The South Australian cobbler was first formally described in 1829 as Apistus marmoratus by the French zoologist Georges Cuvier with the type locality given as "Timor Island, southern Malay Archipelago", although this is likely to be an error and the actual locality is in Western Australia. In 1839 the English zoologist William Swainson placed it in the new genus Gymnapistes, as its only species. This taxon is included in the subfamily Tetraroginae within the Scorpaenidae in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World however other authorities place that subfamily within the stonefish family Synanceiidae, while other authorities classify this subfamily as a family in its own right. The genus name is a compound of gymnos which means "bare" or "naked" with Apistes, this was originally proposed as a subgenus of Apistus and the first part alludes to the mostly scaleless body of this taxon. The specific name marmoratus means "marbled" as in alcohol this fish has a marbled appearance.

Description The South Australian cobbler has a long based dorsal fin which has 12 or 13 spines, each separated by an incision in the membrane between them, and between 7 and 10 soft rays, the spiny and soft-rayed parts are separated by an incision, with 3 spines and 4 to 6 soft rays in its anal fin. It eye does not bulge above the dorsal profile of the head, the intraorbital space is slightly concave and there are several obvious spines on the head. The lacrimal bone is mobile and has a sizeable, curved, erectile spine to its posterior and a smaller anterior spine. The only scales are on the lateral line. This fish has a mottled pattern made up of brown to dark brown blotches on the upper body fading to pale ventrally. These blotches are less obvious in the larger fish. There is an obvious dark blotch on the dorsal fin between the 4th and 7th spines. There is a dark, oblong spot near the base on the pectoral fin while the other fins often have vermiculations or vague spotting. This species attains a maximum total length of 22.5 cm (8.9 in).

Distribution and habitat The South Australian cobbler is endemic to the temperate southern coasts of Australia. Its distribution extends from the central coast of New South Wales to Perth, Western Australia. It is found in shallow inshore waters, tidal pools and estuaries at depths between 0.25 and 35 m (9.8 in and 114 ft 10.0 in) in beds of seagrass.

Biology The South Australian cobbler is a nocturnal ambush predator, with the smaller fish feeding mainly on shrimp and small crabs and the larger fish being more piscivorous. It stays motionless during the day. These fishes attain sexual maturity at 2 to 4 years old. The adults leave the seagrass beds in the late winter and early spring, congregating in deeper water in very large aggregations, thought to be spawning aggregations. It is a slow-growing species and large individuals are much older in comparison to other species at the same size. They can live for more than 14 years. The adults have venom-bearing spines on the infraorbital bone, preopercular bone and in the dorsal, anal and pectoral fins.

Utilisation The South Australian cobbler is taken as bycatch in both commercial and recreational fisheries.

Venom The South Australian cobbler is well defended with venomous spines on the head and in the fins. People who have been envenomated by this fish rarely die, symptoms of envenomation include severe pain around the envenomated area of the body, swelling, nausea, perspiration, paralysis of the limbs and fainting. In worst cases the venom may interfere with the functioning of cardiovascular system.

References

External links

FishBase entry for Gymnapistes marmoratus "Gymnapistes marmoratus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 25 October 2020.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with South Australian cobbler

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what South Australian cobbler claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to South Australian cobbler before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about South Australian cobbler ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of South Australian cobbler

In research: South Australian cobbler appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses South Australian cobbler in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: South Australian cobbler is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Fish described in 1829, Marine fish of Southern Australia, Taxa named by Georges Cuvier, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for South Australian cobbler outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study South Australian cobbler in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what South Australian cobbler means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain South Australian cobbler out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is South Australian cobbler in simple terms?

Why does South Australian cobbler matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study South Australian cobbler?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on South Australian cobbler.