North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

Had this pop out the mouth of a reef fish from the gutter reef.
Looks like a baby saw fish
Anyone have an idea what it may be.

Interesting pic, maybe it is partly digested?

If it is, must be half digested or somehow found its way out of the female before development, as sawfish and shovelnose have live young.

It looks very small.

Given it is 2020, its either the start of an alien invasion or a new parasite that eats everything.

Definitely resembles a Shovelnose but way too small.

Newborns are apparently 15-24cm.

Interesting..

The fish was about 40 cm.
Definitely part digested but the head and eye sockets appeared to be visible.

I caught something like this in the 70's at Moonta Bay, SA. I remember going to great lengths to ID it, from memory it was some kind of gurnard, but it was over 40 years ago. Mine was a mottled brown colour. It had the same body shape as above but the pectoral fins were fan shaped. They may be withdrawn or dissolved on yours.

Morgan Grant would be able to ID it for you, it may even have been him that gave me the original ID all those years ago.