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Forcepsfish
Forcipiger flavissimus Jordan & McGregor, 1898
A Forcepsfish at a depth of 25m, Great Detached Reef, far northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, November 2001. View larger image. View image of larva.
The Forcepsfish has a very long snout and an operculum (glossary) with a curved margin. The similar looking Longnose Butterflyfish F.longirostris (view fact sheet) has an even longer snout and an angular operculum.
The head of the Forcepsfish is black above and silvery-white below. The body is bright yellow. There is a black spot on the anal fin close to the caudal peduncle.
The Forcepsfish grows to 22cm in length.
It is usually seen in pairs but can also occur singly or in small groups.
Food items include the tube feet of echinoderms, tentacles of polychaetes, hydroids and crustaceans.
This species has a very wide distribution in tropical and some temperate waters from the Western Indian Ocean through to the Eastern Pacific.
In Australia it is known from north-western Western Australia and from the northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland to northern New South Wales.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Further reading
- Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
- Allen, G.R., Steene, R. & M. Allen. 1998. A Guide to Angelfishes & Butterflyfishes. Odyssey Publishing/Tropical Reef Research. Pp. 250.
- Allen, G.R. & R. Swainston. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 201.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
