Easily recognised by the long tubular snout, diagonal black bars, and spiky spines on the top fin. They sometimes gather together in small groups. The juvenile has black spots amongst the white bands. Found on shallow rocky reefs. Grows to 50cm in length. Image © Rudie Kuiter & Mark Norman

Map interpretation: This maps show the average abundance of this species, as observed by participants in the Great Victorian Fish Count. Each dot represents a site that has been monitered by Reef Watch, and the colour of the dot shows the average abundance, as detailed in the legend. Tentative sightings occur when the Reef Watcher is not 100% confident of the identification, or where the sighting is outside the previously known distribution of the species. It would be great to confirm these sightings with a photograph or further observations.

References:

• Edgar, Graham. J. 1997. Australian Marine Life - the plants and animals of temperate waters (revised edition). New Holland : Sydney .
• Gomon, Martin. F, Glover, J. C. M., & Kuiter, R. H. (eds) 1994. The Fishes of Australia 's South Coast . State Print: Adelaide .
• Hutchins, Barry, & Swainston, Roger. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia - Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing and Gary Allen: Smithfield .
• Kuiter, Rudie. H. 1993. The Complete Divers' & Fishermen's Guide to Coastal Fishes of South-Eastern Australia . Crawford House Press: Bathurst .
• Kuiter, Rudie. H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia - A comprehensive reference for divers & fishermen. New Holland : Sydney .