Swallowtail hawkfish

Appearance

The swallowtail hawkfish differs from all the other members of the family Cirrhitidae in two features, the lunate caudal fin with both the upper and lower lobes elongated and the high dorsal fin soft ray count. The dorsal fin contains 10 spines, each spine having numerous cirri at its tip, and 16-17 soft rays, the first ray being elongated, while the anal fin has 3 spines and 6-7 soft rays. The caudal fin is lunate with the uppermost ray of the upper lobe and the lowest ray of the lower lobe extended into filaments. The lower pectoral fin rays are longer than the others. This species attains a maximum total length of 15 cm . The overall colour of this fish is orange to brownish-orange, frequently with orange-red to brownish blotches.

Distribution

The swallowtail hawkfish is found in the Indo-Pacific region. Its range extends from south and eastern Africa from South Africa to Kenya eastwards through the Indian Ocean to Palau, Melanesia and Fiji, north as far as Japan and south to Australia. In Australia it occurs off Western Australia and along the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland as far south as southern New South Wales. It can be found at depths between 10 and 132 m . It inhabits steep slopes and small coral heads exposed to the current.

Behavior

The swallowtail hawkfish, unlike other hawkfishes which are mostly benthic, this species stays in the water column several metres above the substrate It preys largely on pelagic crustaceans, copepods and other zooplankton. It may be a protogynous hermaphrodite but further study is needed to confirm this.

Habitat

The swallowtail hawkfish is found in the Indo-Pacific region. Its range extends from south and eastern Africa from South Africa to Kenya eastwards through the Indian Ocean to Palau, Melanesia and Fiji, north as far as Japan and south to Australia. In Australia it occurs off Western Australia and along the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland as far south as southern New South Wales. It can be found at depths between 10 and 132 m . It inhabits steep slopes and small coral heads exposed to the current.