Pristiapogon exostigma, Adult. Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Pristiapogon exostigma, Coral Sea, Australia, Photo: Ian Shaw
Pristiapogon exostigma, Adult, Great Barrier Reef, Cairns, Australia, Photo: Joe Shields
Distribution
Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Clear to pink translucent with a single stripe that tapers from eye to mid tail base, leading edge of first dorsal fin black. Black spot slightly above centre of tail base and end of stripe. P. fraenatus differs by black spot being at the centre of tail base. Nocturnal and usually hides well back in caves and under ledges during the day. Night phase without markings also shown.
Information
Max Size: 12 cm
Depth: 3-40m
Habitat: Coral Reef, Rocky Reef, Soft sediment
Habitat Generalisation Index: 1.6
Also referred to as the SGI (Species generalisation index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species.
Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most
hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here
Rarity
IUCN Threat Status: Not Evaluated
Occurrence: Infrequent (3% of sites)
Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution.
It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
Abundance: Several (6 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: RD Stuart-Smith, GJ Edgar, AJ Green, IV Shaw. 2015. Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland
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