What's in a name?

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these are all perch     Perca flavescens redfin perch Callanthias australis rosy perch Leiopotherapon unicolor spangled perch Lutjanus russelli moses perch         The name 'perch' is an English derivation of the Greek word 'perca', a name used by the early Greeks for a group of European freshwater fishes of generalised and rather indistinctive form. It has been applied by English speaking migrants to fish of similar form in the various parts of the world where they have settled. 'Perch' is perhaps the most widely used name for fishes in Australia, having been given to hundreds of different species. In the scientific system, the name Perca is used for the genus to which the 'European perch', known in Australia as the 'redfin' or 'redfin perch', belongs. The three species belonging to this genus, Perca flavescens, Perca fluviatilus and Perca schrenki, are native to continents of the Northern Hemisphere, but the second has been introduced to many parts of the world as a food and game fish.

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all of these names apply to this species     Argyrosomus japonicus This is a popular angling and food fish in southern Australia, occurring from Moreton Bay in Queensland around to the Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia, and has been given a different name in each state. For a long time, it has been known as jewfish in Queensland and New South Wales, as mulloway in Victoria, as butterfish in South Australia (where it is an extremely popular choice at 'fish and chips' shops), and kingfish or river kingfish in Western Australia. Even scientists have had a problem with its name, as very similar species also occur in southern Africa and the Japanese region of the northwestern Pacific. We now think that the Australian species may be found nowhere else.

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it could have been any of these...     Mustelus antarticus gummy shark Galeorhinus galeus school shark         Callorhynchus milii elephantfish Aptychotrema bougainvillii guitarfish         ....or, for that matter, some other. 'Flake' is a general marketing name used in Australia for many sharks and their close relatives. Each species marketed as flake also has at least one additional more specific common name. Widely distributed species, such as the strange-looking elephantfish, may have many common names.

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