Common Name: Halfband Cardinalfish

Distribution: Uncommon in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Indo-West Pacific region: from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Oman south to Natal, South Africa and east to the western Pacific, from southern Japan south to Australia. In Australia known from the central coast of Western Australia north, far north Queensland south to Seal Rocks in New South Wales on the east coast.

Ecological Notes: Frequents inshore reefs, secretive in caves and crevices in rocky and rubble reef. Depth 5 – 30 m.

Additional Notes: Pinkish colouration with distinct darker band from above eye to tail, second dark band through eye to belly. Secretive and cryptic, rarely noticed. As with other members of the family there is distinct pairing during courtship and spawning, the male mouthbrooding the eggs until hatching. Grows to 7.5 cm.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.120.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/Apogon-semiornatus.html. Accessed 01/09/18.