Common Name: Flame Hawkfish

Distribution: Rare in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Pacific Ocean: north to the Ryuku Islands to the Line Islands, east to Micronesia, south to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. In Australia recorded from the Coral Sea and northern Great Barrier Reef.

Ecological Notes: Frequents surge swept reef fronts and terraces. Common hiding among branches of live corals where it retreats when approached. Depth to 11 m.

Additional Notes: Vivid red body with black marks around eyes and along back under dorsal fin. Feeds on small crustaceans and invertebrates. Grows to 9 cm.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.232.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=neocirrhites+armatus. Accessed 09/06/18.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/neocirrhites-armatus.html. Accessed 09/06/18.