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Blotched Hawkfish
Cirrhitichthys aprinus (Cuvier, 1829)
A Blotched Hawkfish at a depth of 15 m, Shiprock, Port Hacking, New South Wales. Photo © E. Schlögl. View larger image.
A Blotched Hawkfish at a depth of 12 m, Shiprock, Port Hacking, New South Wales. Photo © Á. Lumnitzer. View larger image.
A Blotched Hawkfish at a depth of 12 m, Port Stephens, New South Wales. Photo © D. & L. Atkinson. View larger image.
A juvenile Blotched Hawkfish at a depth of 4 m, Camp Cove, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, April 1999. Photo © E. Schlögl. View larger image.
The Blotched Hawkfish has large, irregular shaped blotches on the sides of the body. There is a distinct spot on the operculum behind the eye and cirri on the tips of the dorsal spines.
This species grows to 12 cm in length.
Like most of the hawkfishes, this species is often observed motionless on the bottom, propped up on its thickened lower pectoral fin rays.
The Blotched Hawkfish occurs in tropical and some warm temperate marine waters of the Indo-Pacific.
In Australia it is recorded from the southern to central coasts of Western Australia and from northern Queensland to southern New South Wales.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Related links
- View a low resolution movie clip (55k) of this species. Go to the movies page for high and low resolution versions.
- View the Hawkfishes list
Further reading
- Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
- Allen, G.R. & R. Swainston. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 201.
- Edgar, G.J. 1997. Australian Marine Life: the plants and animals of temperate waters. Reed Books. Pp. 544.
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
