HAWKFISH

Hawkfish get their name from the way they sit completely still on the reef, then swiftly swoop down on a suitable prey as it passes by. They belong to the Cirritidae family which has over 30 different species around the world, although spotting the differences between some of them, especially on a dive, takes some doing.

With a small, stout body and comparatively large head, their distinguishing features are all to do with colour and pattern: spots, stripes and freckles. They all have tiny frills (or cirri) on their dorsal fins and just behind their nostrils.

This family of fishes range from 10 cm to about 30 long with the smaller species common in the tropics while the larger ones tend to be found in subtropical, cooler waters..

Generally hawkfish are shallow water fish, rarely found deeper than thirty metres. Due to their lack of a swim bladder, the organ which allows them to hover in the water column, they sink when they are not on the move. This means they spend their days perched on a favoured piece of coral or other part of the reef. An outcrop of hard coral or a tunicate is a handy place for spotting prey, but often they lurk deep within the branching tentacles of a matching black coral bush.

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