A small dark waspfish of southern jetties and weed beds, common under pylons and easily missed against the pile.
To about 23 cm, dark brown to black and mottled, with a large head and small eyes. It is a waspfish rather than a Myripristis soldierfish, and it is called a soldierfish in Australia anyway, which is why this entry carries a regional qualifier. It lives on southern Australian jetty pylons, in weed and among seagrass.
The dorsal spines are venomous and the animal sits perfectly still against a pylon a hand is about to hold. Jetty diving means holding on in surge and holding on in the dark, and this is the fish that turns that into an evening in a clinic with a bucket of hot water. Look before you grip.
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.
