(Image credit: Graham Edgar)

This species is found throughout southern mainland Australia including northern New South Wales to south-western Western Australia and the Kent Group islands, Tasmania. Tricky fish to identify - can look like the pretty Polly or Castelnaus wrasse and even has similar swimming styles. Often can been seen swimming vertically with its tail toward the sea floor. It has a longer body (elongated) and a dark brown stripe or band horizontally along the length of its body. Patterns comprise of 5 to 10 dark brown bands vertically down the flank of the fish which angle back (like a backslash on a keyboard). Face speckled with brownish blotches.

Length: Up to 20 cm

Habitat

Exposed reef; 4-40 m depth

Log it

Log this species wherever it is spotted in Tasmanian waters

Related links/info

Species names on the Redmap site are based on the Codes for Australian Aquatic Biota or CAAB (http://www.cmar.csiro.au/caab/). This is updated regularly and lists the approved common name, family, species name and more.

Redmap species descriptions were based, with permission, on the following resources:

Australian Marine Life: The Plants and Animals of Temperate Waters by G. J. Edgar, Revised Ed. (2008) Reed Books, Melbourne

Fishes of Australia’s Southern Coast, Edited by M. Gomon. D. Bray and R. Kuiter (2008) Reed Books, Melbourne

Find further information and images at FISHES OF AUSTRALIA http://www.fishesofaustralia.net.au/