Old wife
Amazing fact
The old wife makes a sound by grinding its teeth together when caught.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
The old wife makes a sound by grinding its teeth together when caught.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Old wife
- Scientific name
- Enoplosus armatus
- Japanese name
- オールドワイフ
- Group
- Ocean animals
- Order
- Perciformes
- Family
- Enoplosidae
- Genus
- Enoplosus
Where the name “Old wife” comes from
Its English name, Old Wife, means a wife of many years.
葛西臨海水族園A fish found just along the coasts of southern Australia, living on rocky reefs, in seaweed beds and in inlets.
Its silver body has black vertical bars of different widths, and its large dorsal fin is divided into separate front and rear fins.
It likes to eat shrimp, worms and similar animals, and it sometimes gathers in large schools.
How the Old wife lives
Young fish live in seagrass beds. As they mature, they move to coastal waters. They leave the school to form pairs when mating.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebBasic data
- Size
- Total length: 50 cm
- Diet
- Small fish, crustaceans, and other foods
- Range
- Southern Australian coast
Where the Old wife has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- オールドワイフ
- 简体中文
- 盔姥鲈
- 繁體中文
- 盔姥鱸
- 한국어
- 이노플로수스 아르마투스
- Español
- Vieja esposa
- Deutsch
- Doppel-Rückenflosser
- Português (Brasil)
- Peixe-zebra-de-armadura
- Italiano
- Enoplosidae
- العربية
- دلثمة مسلحة
- Русский
- Австралийский колючепёр
- ไทย
- ปลาโอด์ไวฟ์
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 葛西臨海水族園 — オールドワイフChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Enoplosus armatusChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Old wife, look for this
- Look for the bright yellow part of its eye.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebEXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Old wife
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Kanto
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
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Others in Perciformes
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