Cirrhitichthys aprinus

Lore & Background

The spotted hawkfish was first formally described as Cirrhites aprinus in 1829 by the French zoologist Georges Cuvier, with the type locality given as Timor. When the genus Cirrhitichthys was described by Pieter Bleeker in 1857, he used a species he had described in 1853, Cirrhites graphidopterus, as its type species, but this was later shown to be a synonym of Cuvier's C. aprinus. The specific name aprinus means 'boar-like', a reference to the large canine teeth in the sides of the lower jaws.

The body has a standard length about two and a half times its depth, with a strongly serrated preoperculum and cycloid scales. The dorsal fin has 10 spines and 12 soft rays, the anal fin 3 spines and 6 soft rays, and the dorsal spines are tipped with short white filaments. The lower 7 pectoral fin rays are robust and unbranched, and the pelvic fins extend past the anus. The caudal fin is weakly emarginate. The overall background color is whitish with wide dark reddish-brown vertical bars on the flanks, broken by light bars containing rhombus-shaped dark patches where they cross the lateral line. There is a pale-margined dark circular spot on the upper edge of the operculum, and each eye has 3–4 dark bars radiating outward. The caudal fin is translucent and unmarked.

Reader's Guide

The spotted hawkfish is a common species inhabiting rocky and coral areas of coastal reefs below the low tide mark, also moving into shallow harbors and estuaries. It is found from Sumatra east to the Solomon Islands, north to the Philippines and the Ogasawara and Ryukyu Islands of southern Japan, and south to eastern and western coasts of Australia, including the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, the Timor Sea, the Great Barrier Reef, Jervis Bay, and possibly as far south as Merimbula, New South Wales. It also occurs at the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Ashmore Reef, and Lord Howe Island, with isolated records from the western Indian Ocean including Aliwal Shoal off South Africa and the Maldives.

Biologically, the spotted hawkfish is frequently solitary or in small groups, perching on benthic invertebrates such as sponges and corals using its thickened lower pectoral fin rays. It feeds on small fishes and crustaceans. It is thought to be a protogynous hermaphrodite and organized into harems of a single male and a small number of females. When spawning, a pair spirals upward in the water column for less than 1 m, and the eggs are pelagic. The species is rare in the aquarium trade.

Did You Know?

• The spotted hawkfish was first described in 1829 by Georges Cuvier with the type locality given as Timor.
• It attains a maximum total length of 12.5 cm (4.9 in).
• The lower 7 pectoral fin rays are robust and unbranched, used for perching on sponges and corals.