Eclipse pigfish
Bodianus mesothorax
Illustration: Bloom by Day
A small wrasse cut cleanly in two by a black diagonal band — purple in front, pale yellow behind — as though half of it were in shadow. It works the lower reef in quick darts, turning stones and picking at ledges, and is far too busy to mind you.
how to recognise it
- a sharp blackish diagonal band across the middle of the fish
- purplish front half, whitish to yellowish rear half — the band is the join between them
- small for a pigfish: under 20 cm
- juveniles are deep purple with two rows of bright yellow spots
don’t confuse with
- Goldspot pigfish — the goldspot is much bigger and orange-red, with a gold blotch on the back and a large black patch under the soft dorsal — no diagonal band
- Blackfin pigfish — the blackfin pigfish has a large black blotch on the body at the rear of the dorsal fin and yellow-and-white side stripes
- Pacific Diana's pigfish — Pacific Diana's pigfish has a red head grading to a yellow body, and in terminal males black spots on the rear dorsal, anal and pelvic fins
Field marks read from Fishes of Australia, 2026-10-15. Our wording, their facts. Max size 20 cm TL.
facts
- habitat
- reef
- size
- ~15 cm, to 20 cm
Max size from Fishes of Australia (20 cm TL); the typical size is Bluebird’s, not from a cited source
- records near here
- 1 at 1 of 6 spots
A count of occurrence records near these spots, not abundance. Records are where someone looked.
when it has been recorded
JFMAMJJASOND
A gap means no record in the sample, not absence.
the rule
QLD — Min: 25cm · Limit: 5
source
· verified 2026-10-10
no NSW rule listed — check before you dive
no closed season recorded for this species — that is not the same as open; check the official page
Rules checked 2026-10-13 against qld.gov.au
Rules change. Check before you dive.
Occurrence data: Atlas of Living Australia (ala.org.au), CC-BY 4.0.
Diver transect counts: Reef Life Survey (reeflifesurvey.com), CC-BY 4.0, supplied via ALA.
Target and protected species: Queensland tidal-water size and possession limits (qld.gov.au) and NSW saltwater bag and size limits plus threatened species lists (dpird.nsw.gov.au).
Habitat and size: Bluebird, approximate, from general knowledge. Not cited. FishBase is CC BY-NC and this app is commercial, so it is not used.
Description written for Bloom. RECORDS ARE WHERE SOMEONE LOOKED, NOT WHERE THE FISH ARE. A record count is a count of records near here and nothing else -- it is not abundance, and a species with few records is not rare. Absence of records is not absence of fish.
Diver transect counts: Reef Life Survey (reeflifesurvey.com), CC-BY 4.0, supplied via ALA.
Target and protected species: Queensland tidal-water size and possession limits (qld.gov.au) and NSW saltwater bag and size limits plus threatened species lists (dpird.nsw.gov.au).
Habitat and size: Bluebird, approximate, from general knowledge. Not cited. FishBase is CC BY-NC and this app is commercial, so it is not used.
Description written for Bloom. RECORDS ARE WHERE SOMEONE LOOKED, NOT WHERE THE FISH ARE. A record count is a count of records near here and nothing else -- it is not abundance, and a species with few records is not rare. Absence of records is not absence of fish.