Common Name: Stripey

Distribution: Abundant in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Western Pacific region: from Japan and China, south to New Caledonia and Australia, also Hawaii. In Australia recorded from the east coast from southern Queensland to southern New South Wales, and including Lord Howe Island. Also distinct population in Western Australia from the Bunbury region north to Shark Bay.

Ecological Notes: Frequents coastal and lagoon reefs where it may be found in dense aggregations under ledges and in caves. Juveniles in estuaries. Depth to 140 m.

Additional Notes: Yellow body with black stripes which extend the full length of the body. Feeds on zooplankton in the water column as well as invertebrates and algae. Adults in top photograph, small juvenile (30 mm) in bottom photograph. Grows to 16 cm.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.199.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=Microcanthus+strigatus. Accessed 07/06/18.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/Microcanthus-strigatus.html. Accessed 07/06/18.