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The Snub nosed Dart is an unusually deep bodied species characterised by having a bluntly rounded snout; it is found usually in coastal and ocean waters of Central and North Queensland, although stragglers have been found as far south as Moreton Bay. It is a brilliant silvery fish, pale blue green above, with the throat, cheeks, and breast faintly washed with yellow. The sickle shaped dorsal fin is black-tipped: the anal tin is orange yellow with a dusky tip. The leading rays of the caudal fin are yellowish, the fin itself black edged.
The Snub nosed Dart has a powerful set of pharyngeal bones in the throat, behind the gills, for crushing up the shells of ugari, oysters and other molluscs on which it feeds. It grows to a weight of 7.3 kg (16 lb.); it is a very good food fish and a hard fighter.
The Oyster eater (Trachinolus anak Ogilby) is another heavy bodied Dart with a blunt snout, very similar to (if not identical with) the Snub nosed Dart above. It grows to a known length of 960 mm (38 inches) and may attain 1.8 m (6 feet). This species is reputed to cause extensive damage to oyster leases, particularly in the vicinity of Wide Bay (S. Qld). One fish may consume three dozen large oysters in a single feeding excursion, the shells being crushed by the strongly muscled bony structures at the base of the gullet. Smaller examples are quite good eating, though large fish tend to be dry and flavourless.
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