Common Name: Bicolor Goatfish

Distribution: Uncommon in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Western Pacific region: from the Molluccas and the Philippines to western Samoa, north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to New Caledonia and Tonga, and including islands in Micronesia. In Australia known from around Geraldton and further north in Western Australia, the Coral Sea and the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland south to at least Central New South Wales.

Ecological Notes: Frequents coral reef habitats in protected waters such as bays or lagoons or in deeper outer-reef areas. Prefers mixed sand, rubble and sea weed covered substrate. Depth to at least 40 m.

Additional Notes: Dark forebody with two pale stripes, yellowish from around midbody to tail, with black spot below rear of tail fin. Adults solitary, juveniles in small groups sometimes with other species. Carnivorous, feeding on worms, benthic crustaceans, molluscs, brittle stars, and heart urchins. Grows to 30 cm.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.186.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=parupeneus+barberinoides. Accessed 27/06/18.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/parupeneus-barberinoides.html. Accessed 27/06/18.