Hawkfishes – Little Jewels of the Sea

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It’s Saturday morning, so I’m off for a dive. I don’t have much time for composition, so I’ll just show you some pictures. (with apologies to those who have seen them a hundred times already)

I like the Hawkfishes. Unlike some other families, there’s not an ugly one in the bunch. (Click on a picture to see a bigger version.)

This is the Arc-Eye Hawkfish (Paracirrhites arcatus). The common name comes from the arc-shaped marking over the eyes.

Arc Eye Hawkfish

Here’s a Freckled Hawkfish (Paracirrhites fosteri). They start out as youngsters with just a few freckles and get more and more as they age (hmmm . . . that seems to be the way my old body is turning out)

Freckled Hawkfish

Ah yes, the rare (except on the Henry Leith) Longnose Hawkfish (Oxycirrhites typus). Anybody want to venture a guess where it got it’s name. I’d be tempted to call it the Jimmy Durante Hawkfish, but nobody under 60 would get the connection. Richard Jones took this picture with my camera.

Longnosed Hawkfish

Here’s the Pixy Hawkfish (Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus). The name just makes me giggle.  Imagine a pixy hawk – let alone a pixy hawk fish. What a mish-mash of words.

Pixy Hawkfish

And, as so often happens when you think you know what you are looking at, along comes a fish you thought you knew, but it’s a completely different color. This is the Red Variation of the Pixy Hawkfish.

Pixy Hawkfish (red variation)

Okay, that’s enough for today. I hear thunder in the distance, so the dive may be off . . . nevermind.

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3 Responses to “Hawkfishes – Little Jewels of the Sea”

  1. Madang - Ples Bilong Mi » Blog Archive » The Blue Spotted Stingray Says:

    More Blue Spotted Stingray photos.

  2. Madang - Ples Bilong Mi » Blog Archive » This Dame Is No Lady Says:

    Another time when we went diving on The Henry Leith

  3. The Arc-Eye Hawkfish and a Weird Sponge | Madang - Ples Bilong Mi Says:

    [...] you haven’t had enough Hawkfishes, you can see more here, here, here, here and [...]

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