Common Name: Yellowtip Gregory

Distribution: Abundant in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Known from the Western Pacific region: East Coast of Australia and lately recorded from Taiwan and the Loyalty Islands. In Australia recorded from the northern tip of Queensland south to Seal Rocks in New South Wales.

Ecological Notes: Frequents coral and rocky reef, lagoons. Depth to at least 10m.

Additional Notes: Body color is generally dark brown with yellow or reddish suffusion on upper head and body, yellow tipped dorsal and top of tail fin. The scales have darkish margins, giving an overall appearance of narrow transverse bands. There is a small black spot between 2nd and 3rd spine of the spinous dorsal fin. The anterior edge of pelvic and anal fins is blue. Grows to 15 cm.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.281.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=stegastes+apicalis. Accessed 27/08/23.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/Stegastes-apicalis.html. Accessed 09/07/18.