Longnose Hawkfish

ID points

• Red grid pattern on white, like checked cloth
• Long slender snout jutting forward, half the length of the head
• Perches on the branches of gorgonians or black coral

Basics

Family

Cirrhitidae

Length

10–13 cm

Depth

10-100 m

Regions

Indo-Pacific reefs · Deep sea

Distribution

Deeper parts of Indo-Pacific coral reefs

Habitat

Deeper reef gorgonians and black coral

Diet

Planktonic crustaceans

Easily confused with

Flame HawkfishBright red all over, with a ring of black around the eyesFirefish GobyFront half creamy white, shading to orange-red at the rearGhost PipefishBody covered in fringed skin flaps, looking like floating debris

Fun fact

The longnose hawkfish is white with a red crosshatch pattern and a very long, pointed snout, rather like the beak of a little checked bird. It lives permanently on black coral and sea fans, using them as a lookout from which to hunt small crustaceans. It is only about 13 cm long but strongly territorial, and a male will hold a harem of several females; if he disappears, the largest female changes sex and takes his place.