Common Name: Peacock Rockskipper
Distribution: Common in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Known from the western Pacific region, Queensland to Western Australia. In Australia recorded from Geraldton in Western Australia through the tropical north to Queensland and south to northern New South Wales.
Ecological Notes: Frequents shallow rock pools, rocky and mangrove shores, upstream to brackish water conditions. Depth from intertidal to 2 m.
Additional Notes: Brownish body with distinct banding and small bluish-white spots along sides, more complex filaments above eye than similar Istiblennius edentulus, which is found in similar habitat. Eggs are demersal and attached to the substrate, hatched larvae are planktonic and found in shallow coastal waters. Grows to 15 cm in length.
References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.373.
Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=istiblennius+meleagris. Accessed 02/06/18.
FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/Istiblennius-meleagris.html. Accessed 02/06/18.