Stocky hawkfish

Cirrhitus pinnulatus, the stocky hawkfish, whitespotted hawkfish or marbled hawkfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a hawkfish belonging to the family Cirrhitidae. It is found in the Indo-West Pacific region.

Distribution

Cirrhitus pinnulatus has a wide Indo-West Pacific distribution being found from the Red Sea and the east African coast south as far as Port Alfred in South Africa east across the Indian Ocean and into the Pacific where it reaches as far east as Hawaii, south to New Caledonia and Australia and north to the Ryukyu Islands of southern Japan. In Australia it is found at Ningaloo Reef and Scott Reef in Western Australia, Cartier Reef in the Timor Sea and from Lizard Island to Escape Reef on the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, it also occurs at Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. It occurs at depths between 1 and 23 m (3 ft 3 in and 75 ft 6 in) but is typically found at depths of less than 15 m (49 ft). This species is found in exposed areas such as the surge zone on the seaward sides of reefs and along rocky coastlines.