Yellow hawkfish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Yellow hawkfish |
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The yellow hawkfish, also sometimes called the blueline yellow hawkfish, is a cool fish that lives in the ocean. It's a type of hawkfish, which means it belongs to a group of fish known for perching on corals and ambushing their food. You can find these bright yellow fish in the central Pacific Ocean. Sometimes, people even keep them in home aquariums!
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Meet the Yellow Hawkfish
Scientists give every living thing a special name, like a first and last name, so everyone knows exactly which animal they are talking about. The yellow hawkfish's scientific name is Paracirrhites xanthus.
A scientist named John Ernest Randall first described this fish in 1963. He found it near the Tuamotu Islands in the Pacific. The name xanthus actually means "yellow" in an old language, which makes perfect sense for this fish!
There are a few other hawkfish species that look very similar to the yellow hawkfish, like P. bicolor and P. nisus. Scientists are still studying if these very similar fish are all separate species or just different color versions of the same one.
What Does It Look Like?
The yellow hawkfish has a body that is almost 40% as deep as it is long. It can grow up to about 12 centimeters (about 4.7 inches) long.
- Fins: Its top fin (called the dorsal fin) has 10 strong spines and 11 soft rays. The tips of the front spines have tiny, hair-like parts called cirri. The fin on its belly (the anal fin) has 3 spines and 6 soft rays. Its side fins (the pectoral fins) have 7 strong, unbranched rays at the bottom. The tail fin is straight across.
- Color: As its name suggests, this fish is a bright, vivid yellow all over! It has faint horizontal lines on its body. You might also spot a short, pretty violet-blue stripe right behind its eye.
Where Does It Live?
The yellow hawkfish lives in the western central Pacific Ocean. You can find it around places like French Polynesia, including the Tuamotu Archipelago, Marquesas Islands, and Society Islands. It also lives near the Cook Islands and in Kiribati, around the Phoenix Islands, Line Islands, and Caroline Atoll. You can also find it near American Samoa at Swains Island.
These fish like to hang out on exposed outer reefs. They usually live in water that is between 2 and 25 meters (about 6.5 to 82 feet) deep.
How Does It Live?
The yellow hawkfish is a solitary fish, meaning it usually lives alone. It likes to sit on top of corals, waiting patiently. When a tasty meal swims by, it quickly ambushes its prey! Most of its diet consists of small crustaceans, like tiny crabs or shrimp.
Yellow Hawkfish and People
Because of its beautiful bright yellow color, the yellow hawkfish is sometimes collected for the aquarium trade. This means people buy them to keep as pets in their home fish tanks. They are most commonly available in Japan, where they can be quite expensive. It's much harder to find them in aquariums in Europe or North America.
