Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus (Bleeker, 1855)

halcón de coral, Coral hawkfish

Short pointed snout. Tassels on tips of dorsal fin spines. Size: To 10 cm.

Habitat: Regions of coral development, lava, and rocky shores; to depths of 40 m.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Chordata

Class
Teleostei

Order
Centrarchiformes

Family
Cirrhitidae

Genus
Cirrhitichthys

Species
oxycephalus

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: Cirrhites grandimaculatus Liénard, 1891, Cirrhites murrayi Regan, 1909, Cirrhites oxycephalus Bleeker, 1855, Cirrhitichthys corallicola Tee-Van, 1940, Cirrhitychthys oxycephalus (Bleeker, 1855) (misspelling) Cirritichthys oxycephalus (Bleeker, 1855) (misspelling), fide Appeltans et al. (2010)

Origin: Native

Status

Least concern

Distribution

Distribution: Tropical and subtropical waters; in the eastern Pacific from the central Gulf of California to Colombia, and Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo, Revillagigedos and Ecuador in the Galapagos Islands.

References

  • Grove, J.S. Lavenberg, R.J. (1997) The Fishes of the Galapagos Islands. Stanford University Press, Stanford California. 862 pp.
  • Humann, P. Deloach, N. (2003) Reef Fish Identification - Galapagos. New World Publication, Inc. Florida USA & Libri Mundi, Quito, Ecuador, 226 pp.
  • Appeltans, W. Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C., Costello, M.J. (eds.) (2010) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Available online at http://www.marinespecies.org.
  • IUCN (2010) IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.1. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 26 April 2010.
  • McCosker, J.E. Rosenblatt, R.H. (2010) The fishes of the Galápagos Archipelago: an update. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sc., Ser. 4, vol. 61, Suppl. II, no. 11: 167-195.
  • Edgar, G.J. Fariña, J.M., Calvopiña, M., Martínez, C. & Banks, S. (2002) Comunidades submareales rocosas II: Peces y macroinvertebrados móviles. In: Danulat, E. & Edgar, G.J. (eds.) (2002): Reserva Marina de Galápagos. Línea Base de la Biodiversidad. Fundación Charles Darwin/Servicio Parque Nacional Galápagos, Santa Cruz, Galápagos, Ecuador, p. 68-97.
  • Banks, S. Vera, M. & Chiriboga, A. (2009) Establishing Reference Points to Assess Long-Term Change in Zooxanthellate Coral Communities of the Northern Galapagos Coral Reefs. J. Sci. Conserv. in the Galapagos Islands, p. 43-64.
  • Constant, P. (2007) Marine Life of the Galapagos. The Diver's guide to Fishes, Whales, Dolphins and marine Invertebrates, 307 pp.
  • IUCN (2023) The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-2 Https://www.iucnredlist.org

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=7750. Accessed 16 July 2025.