Common Name: Redmarbled Lizardfish

Distribution: Uncommon to rare in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Indo-West Pacific region: from the Maldives and the western Pacific. In Australia recorded from reefs offshore of north Western Australia, the northern Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea, south to northern New South Wales.

Ecological Notes: Frequents coastal and outer reefs, usually on deep slopes over sand and rubble bottoms, Depth 5 – 50 m, commonly 1 – 26 m. 

Additional Notes: Unbroken ornate bands edged in blue, slender less tapered body than most in this family. Similar Variegated Lizardfish, S. variegatus has line of rectangular blotches along the side with white blotches below, Tail-blotch Lizardfish, S. jaculum, has large distinct bulging spot on tail base. Benthic predator feeding on small fish and small invertebrates. Grows to 20 cm.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.48.

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

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