The Longnose Hawkfish (Oxycirrhites typus) is a small tropical fish species that belongs to the ‘Hawkfishes’ family Cirrhitidae. It is known to occur in the warm waters of the Indo-Pacific region and can be found from the Red Sea and South Africa to the Hawaiian Islands, north to southern Japan and down south to New Caledonia. In the Eastern Pacific it is known to occur from the Gulf of California to northern Colombia and the Galapagos Islands. It can be recognised by its red coloured body with white patches and the long snout head with a small mouth.
This species is generally found living on gorgonian fans in depths greater than 15 metres however it can also be found hiding in amongst the branches of black coral trees. It is considered to be an inquisitive species however it can be difficult to photograph as it often moves away from the photographer to the other side of the fan. It is known to feed on small benthic or planktonic crustaceans and it has been suggest that it also preys on pygmy seahorses however there is no evidence to support this theory. This species is commonly found on the gorgonian fans around Uepi diving resort in the Solomon Islands. The Longnose Hawkfish (Oxycirrhites typus) grows to a maximum length of approximately 13cm.
