Longnose Hawkfish, Oxycirrhites typus Bleeker, 1857

Scientific name: Oxycirrhites typus
Longnose Hawkfish Click to enlarge image
A Longnose Hawkfish at a depth of 26m, 'Captains Table', Wreck Bay, far northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, November 2001. Image: Erik Schlögl
© Erik Schlögl

Fast Facts

  • Classification
    Genus
    Oxycirrhites
    Species
    typus
    Family
    Cirrhitidae
    Order
    Perciformes
    Class
    Actinopterygii
    Subphylum
    Vertebrata
    Phylum
    Chordata
    Kingdom
    Animalia
  • Size Range
    The species grows to 13 cm in length.

Introduction

The Longnose Hawkfish is white with a "grid pattern" of horizontal and near-vertical red lines. It occurs throughout the Indo-Pacific and Eastern Pacific.

Identification

The Longnose Hawkfish has a very long snout and a tuft of cirri near the tip of each dorsal finspine. It is white with a "grid pattern" of horizontal and near-vertical red lines.

Habitat

This species lives in tropical marine waters usually below 30 m in depth. It is often observed perched on gorgonians (sea fans) or black coral.

Distribution

It occurs throughout the Indo-Pacific and Eastern Pacific. In Australia it is recorded from the offshore reefs of north-western Western Australia and from the northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland.

The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums. Click on the map for detailed information. Source: Atlas of Living Australia.

References

  1. Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and south-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
  2. Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
  3. Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.