Common Name: Tommyfish

Distribution: Common in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Western Pacific: Japan to Australia and the Kermadec Islands. Recently reported from Tonga. In Australia recorded from around the coast of southern Western Australia, and from north Queensland south to southern New South Wales and including Lord Howe Island.

Ecological Notes: Frequents areas of coarse sand and rubble, from shallow pools to a depth of at least 150 m.

Additional Notes: Rarely seen, this species has a pointed snout used for burrowing beneath the grains of sand and rubble. The eyes are independent, pointed upwards for sighting prey. Feeds on small invertebrates. Grows to 5 cm, specimens in photographs around 2 cm.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.360.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=Limnichthys+fasciatus. Accessed 04/06/18.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/Limnichthys-fasciatus.html. Accessed 04/06/18.