Common Name: Slender Cardinalfish

Distribution: Uncommon in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Indo-West Pacific region: from East Africa to the Marshall Islands and New Guinea, north to Japan, south to northern Australia, including the Arafura Sea. In Australia recorded from around Geraldton in Western Australia, throughout the tropical north to around Bundaberg on the east coast of Queensland.

Ecological Notes: Frequents lagoon and coastal reefs among coral and rocks, actively feeds day and night. Depth 3 – 91 m.

Additional Notes: Translucent body, pale red patch on operculum behind eye, black tips on one or both tail lobes, sometimes small black spot on tail base. Forms large schools and feeds in the current above reefs. Grows to 6 cm.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.131.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=Rhabdamia+gracilis. Accessed 03/07/18.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/Rhabdamia-gracilis.html. Accessed 03/07/18.