Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 12cm
Identification: Dark brown to black with whitish snout and tail; white head bar does not cross over head.
Hide-out: Lagoons and rocky shoreline reefs. Live most commonly with Bulb-Tentacle Anemone in 2-45m.
Location: Lord Howe and Norfolk Is.
Mcculloch's Anemonefish
Blackcap Butterflyfish
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 18cm
Description: Golden with thin reddish brown bands; black eye bar with prominent white bar behind, and black saddle across upper nape; tail margin black.
Favourite: Solitary or in pairs.
Hide-out: Mixed rock and coral reefs in 4-25m.
Location: W. Pacific Rim from Gulf of Thailand to S.W. Japan.
Spotted Unicornfish
Family: Surgeonfishes - Acanthuridae
Maximum Size: 50cm
Identification: Brown with dark spots on head and vertical rows of spots and lines on sides, white tail; a broad-based tapering horn on forehead.
Favourite: Usually form small groups.
Hide-out: Lagoon and seaward reefs in 4-46m.
Location: Indo-Pacific - Red Sea and E. Africa to Galapagos Is. off Ecuador. S.W. Japan to Great Barrier Reef and Lord Howe I.
Barrier Reef Anemonefish
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 11.5cm
Identification: Light to dark brown; pair of white or pale bluish bars, head bar often constricted or discontinuous across top of head.
Hide-out: Live with at least 6 anemone species in 3-25m.
Location: Southwestern Pacific - Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea, New Caledonia and Loyalty Is.
Multi-Barred Angelfish
Family: Angelfish - Pomacanthidae
Maximum Size: 10cm
Identification: Alternating black and white or yellow bars; white-edged black spot on rear dorsal fin.
Favourite: Solitary or form small groups; usually in caves or under ledges, frequently swimming upside down.
Hide-out: Steep outer reef slopes in 20-70m.
Location: East Indo-Pacific - Cocos-Keeling Is. to Philippines, New Guinea and French Polynesia. S.W. Japan to Great Barrier Reef.
Blackspine Unicornfish
Family: Surgeonfishes - Acanthuridae
Maximum Size: 19cm
Identification: Gray body pales on lower sides, blackish lips, tail spine and its basal plate black, pectoral and tail fins yellowish.
Favourite: Form small to large schools in mid-water.
Hide-out: Lagoons and outer reefs in 12-40m.
Location: Indo-Asian Pacific - E. Africa to Indonesia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Great Barrier Reef.
Orange Anemonefish
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 13cm
Identification: Orange; white mid-dorsal stripe running from at least mid-snout and often lip to tail.
Hide-out: Live most commonly with Merten's Anemone in 3-20m.
Location: Asian Pacific - Indonesia and W. Australia to Solomon Is., north to S.W. Japan.
Black & White Butterflyfish
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 14cm
Description: White; black band from nape to pectoral region, broad black diagonal area across rear of body.
Favourite: Solitary or in pairs.
Hide-out: Vertical or undercut dropoffs on outer reefs in 20-80m, usually below 40m.
Location: Asian Pacific - E. Indonesia, Philippines, N. New Guinea to Palau and Pohnpei in Micronesia.
Pale-Tailed Bristletooth
Family: Surgeonfishes - Acanthuridae
Maximum Size: 13cm
Identification: Yellowish brown with thin dark stripes; yellow spots on head; conspicuous white to yellowish tail.
Favourite: Solitary or form groups.
Hide-out: Coral-rich areas and rocky reefs to 30m.
Location: Central Pacific - Phoenix and Line Is., French Polynesia and Pitcaim Is.
Skunk Anemonefish
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 10cm
Identification: Pinkish orange; white mid-dorsal stripe from head (but not lip) to tail. Can be distinguished from similar Orange Anemonefish by location.
Hide-out: Live with Magnificant and Mertens' Anemones in 3-25m.
Location: Indian Ocean - E. Africa to Sumatra, Java and Bali in Indonesia.
Midnight Angelfish
Family: Angelfish - Pomacanthidae
Maximum Size: 9cm
Identification: Entirely black.
Favourite: A secretive fish usually alone, occasionally in small groups; hide in crevices and ledges.
Hide-out: Coral-rich areas or rubble bottoms, most commonly on sheltered outer reefs, but also lagoons and passes in 10-70m.
Location: West Pacific - Indonesia, Philippines, N. New Guinea to Vanuatu. S.W. Japan to N. Great Barrier Reef and New Coledonia.
Whitemargin Unicornfish
Family: Surgeonfishes - Acanthuridae
Maximum Size: 100cm
Identification: Olive to brown, but capable of rapid change to pale blue-gray, white lips, tail darkish with white fin rays; adults have long tapering horn on forehead.
Favourite: Form small schools.
Hide-out: Steep outer reef slopes in 20-60m.
Location: Indo-Pacific - E. Africa to Indonesia, Micronesia, Hawaii and Polynesia. S.W. Japan to Great Barrier Reef and Lord Howe I.
Banggai Demoiselle
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 7cm
Identification: Similar to Black-banded Demoiselle, but dark bars more intense and not joined by dark dorsal fin margin, also lack brownish tones and no yellow on young.
Favourite: Usually form small groups.
Hide-out: Silty sand bottoms of sheltered bays and harbors in 15-30m.
Location: Banggai Is. off central E. Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Black Butterflyfish
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 20cm
Description: Dark with yellow rim that is most prominent around rear edge of body and tail; dark blotch on nape; large adults develop hump on forehead.
Favourite: Usually in pairs.
Hide-out: Coral and rocky reefs in 2-20m.
Location: Southern Pacific - E. Australia to Rapa and Pitcaim Is. southeast of French Polynesia.
Pacific Sailfin Tang
Family: Surgeonfishes - Acanthuridae
Maximum Size: 40cm
Identification: White bars alternate with gray to brown bars, tail white to yellowish to brown without spots; greatly enlarged dorsal and anal fins are dark gray to brown with pale bands.
Favourite: Solitary or form groups.
Hide-out: Lagoons and outer reefs to 45m.
Location: Pacific - Indonesia, Micronesia, Hawaii to French Polynesia. S.W. Japan to Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia.
White-Belly Damsel
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 13cm
Identification: Gray with pale scale centers, yellow ventral fins; black edge on dorsal, anal and tail fins.
Hide-out: Lagoons and outer reefs in 2-45m.
Location: Asian Pacific - N. Sumatra in Indonesia to Vanuatu. S.W. Japan to Great Barrier Reef.
Keyhole Angelfish
Family: Angelfish - Pomacanthidae
Maximum Size: 18cm
Identification: Dark blue; oval-shaped white spot on side, margin of anal fin broadly yellow.
Favourite: Solitary or form small groups.
Hide-out: Coral and rubble areas of lagoons and seaward reefs in 4-35m.
Location: Asian Pacific - Indonesia, Malaysian Peninsula, W. Pacific Rim, Philippines and New Guinea to New Caledonia. S.W. Japan to N. & E. Australia and Lord Howe I.
Humpnose Unicornfish
Family: Surgeonfishes - Acanthuridae
Maximum Size: 60cm
Identification: Gray gradating to pale yellow on lower side; large bulbous snout, and hump on back.
Favourite: Often form small groups.
Hide-out: Seaward reefs in 3-20m.
Location: Indo-West Pacific - E. Africa to Indonesia, Micronesia, Gilbert and Solomon Is. S.W. Japan to N. Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia.
Green Sergeant
Family: Damselfishes - Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 15cm
Identification: Pale green to yellowish green and blue-green with 4-5 narrow black bars; tail and outer edges of dorsal and anal fins blackish.
Favourite: Solitary or form groups.
Hide-out: Outer edge of reefs and surge gutters to 5m.
Location: Southwestern Pacific - Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea and New Caledonia.
Asian Butterflyfish
Family: Butterflyfish - Chaetodontidae
Maximum Size: 20cm
Description: White with net pattern; broad black bars or saddle markings on rear head and mid-body, black bar across rear body.
Favourite: In pairs or small aggregations.
Hide-out: Rock or coral reefs in 5-20m.
Location: North Asian Pacific - W. Pacific Rim from S. Japan including Ryukyu and Izu Is., Philippines, S. China and Taiwan.
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