Common Name: Dwarf Hawkfish

Distribution: Common in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific region: Maldives to Samoa, north to Ryukyu Islands, south to New Caledonia. In Australia recorded from Queensland and the Coral Sea, south to central New South Wales and including Lord Howe Island.

Ecological Notes: Frequents shallow coastal and offshore rocky and coral reefs to a depth of at least 45 m, usually 10 – 20 m.

Additional Notes: Orange/red vertical bars with large interspersed spots, pointed snout with lines radiating from eye. May have colour variations related to habitat, paler specimens being found in white sandy areas, darker on deep reefs. Occasionally in pairs but more likely solitary. Grows to 7 cm.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.231.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. http://fishbase.ca/summary/Cirrhitichthys-falco.html. Accessed 15/05/18.