---
title: "Dusky Morwong"
description: "Dactylophora nigricans — Fish. The dusky morwong (Dactylophora nigricans) is a species of marine ray-finned fish, traditionally regarded as belonging to the family Cheilodactylidae, the members of which are commonly known as morwongs."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/dusky-morwong
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Dusky Morwong

> Dactylophora nigricans — Fish. The dusky morwong (Dactylophora nigricans) is a species of marine ray-finned fish, traditionally regarded as belonging to the family Cheilodactylidae, the members of which are commonly known as morwongs.

- Scientific name: *Dactylophora nigricans*
- Category: `fish` (Fish)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 2277
- Wikidata: [Q2727813](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2727813)
- iNaturalist taxon: [486325](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/486325)

## Names

- en: Dusky Morwong

## Countries with the most observations

AU (2208)

## Summary

The dusky morwong (Dactylophora nigricans) is a species of marine ray-finned fish, traditionally regarded as belonging to the family Cheilodactylidae, the members of which are commonly known as morwongs. It is native to the western and southern coastal reefs of Australia.  This species is the only known member of its genus.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dusky_morwong

## Photo

![Dusky Morwong](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/dusky-morwong/medium.jpg)

Photo: Joshua S. Martin · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/253843603

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/dusky-morwong?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).