A red-brown morwong that rests on the bottom propped on thickened pectoral fin rays. One of the commonest fish on New South Wales rocky reef.
To about 65 cm. Brownish-pink to reddish-brown with a silvery-white underside and silvery-white stripes running from the snout, over the eye, to beyond the gill cover. Adults develop paired bony horn-like processes on the snout and head.
Those white head stripes on a reddish body separate it from the grey morwong.
Nought to fifty-five metres on exposed rocky reef. It congregates at the base of rocky outcrops, often resting propped on the pectoral fins in loose groups that tolerate a close approach, which makes it one of the easier temperate fish to photograph. Juveniles shelter among macroalgae.
The accepted name is now Morwong fuscus; older guides print Cheilodactylus fuscus.
Ratings are per location: 1 means found on most dives that look for it, 5 means a handful of records. Where enough dives have been logged the figure is calculated from them; otherwise it is an editorial estimate, and says so. We publish habitat and destination, not the dive site.