The Brotula barbata, more commonly referred to as the goatsbeard brotula, is a species of cusk-eel belonging to the genus Brotula. This species is found in the Indo-Pacific region, inhabiting depths of up to 300 meters. The Brotula barbata exhibits a distinctive coloration, being dark brown with a submarginal black band and a narrow white border on its dorsal and anal fins; alternatively, some individuals may appear greenish to orange-brown with orange-bordered dorsal and anal fins. The species can attain a length of approximately 100 centimeters. It is carnivorous in nature and reproduces via laying eggs, being classified as oviparous.
Why it's threatened
Brotula multibarbata is of minor commercial importance to the fisheries industry as a game-fish (Masuda et al. 1984, Nielsen et al. 1999).
Threat classification from the IUCN Red List.
