(Image credit: David Harasti)

White body with a diagonal black band running from the mouth, crossing the eye and ending at the last ray of the dorsal fin. Above this black band is a yellowish brown section, which gives the fish one of its common names – Yellow-back Puller. The caudal fin has black margins on the top and bottom. Anal fin is transparent with a black tinge towards the lower edge.

Females deposit eggs in the water column just above the substrate. The eggs have a sticky coating and adhere to rocks and coral structures directly below where the female lays them. Males aggressively guard eggs and frequently tend to them. Large aggregations of these fish may dominate an area during spawning cycles.

Length: Up to 9 cm

Habitat

Rocky coastal rocky reefs; 5-25 m depth

Log it

In New South Wales, log if south of Port Stephens

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/