English Name: Stocky hawktish
Family: CIRRHITIDAE
Local Name: Fala gaaboa
Order: Perciformes
Size: Max. 28 cm
Specimen: MRS/0222/88
Distinctive Characters: Dorsal fin with 10 spines and 11 rays. Anal fin with 3 spines and 6 rays. Pectoral fin with 14 rays. Body depth 2.6-3.0 in standard length. Body robust. Pectoral fin short, not reaching tips of pelvic fins. A tuft of cirri from near tip of each dorsal spine.
Colour: Body brown to olive, shading to white ventrally, with scattered large white and dark brown spots; small reddish spots on head.
Habitat and Biology: Lives inshore on reefs or rocky bottoms exposed to surge. Feeds mainly on crabs but also other crustaceans and fishes.
Distribution: Indo-Pacific.
Remarks: Cirrihitus pinnulatus, like other hawkfishes, is a lie-and-wait predator. It perches on towering blocks of coral or on the walls of surge channels where it lurks motionless in wait for its prey.