1972) and the West Indies (Collette and Talbot, 

 1972). 



Some of these planktivorous pomacentrids, for 

 example Abudefduf saxatilus and A. troschelii, 

 noted above, also forage part time on the sea floor. 

 However, most of them, including the species of 

 Chromis and Dascyllus, are specialized as pred- 

 ators on zooplankton, especially copepods. Ex- 

 amples include the representatives of these gen- 

 era on Kona reefs, described in the present report, 

 as well as others from the central Pacific (Hiatt 

 and Strasburg, 1960) and tropical Atlantic (Ran- 

 dall, 1967). 



Family Cirrhitidae: hawkfishes 



Paracirrhites arcatus (Cuvier) — pili ko'a 



This hawkfish is numerous in areas richly 

 overgrown by the coral Pocillopora meandrina. 

 Typically, it rests immobile on the coral heads 

 during day, and takes shelter among the coral 

 branches at night. Individuals shorter than about 

 50 mm are among the coral branches day and 

 night, whereas those longer than about 90 mm 

 frequently occur on the other hard substrata — 

 perhaps because they are too large to fit between 

 the branches of most Pocillopora heads. Para- 

 cirrhites arcatus moves only infrequently — a 

 short dash to capture prey, or when threatened. 



Forty-five specimens (82: 49-101 mm) were col- 

 lected during day and night. The nighttime situa- 

 tion is reflected in the 17 that were speared during 

 the 2 h before first morning light (13 on moonlit 

 nights, 4 on dark nights). Of these, 16 (52 to 95 

 mm) were resting among branches of Pocillopora, 

 whereas the other (99 mm) was amid a fingerlike 

 growth ofPorites compressus. The stomachs were 

 empty in 13 and contained only well-digested 

 fragments in 3. The last individual, taken during 

 new moon, contained a caridean shrimp that 

 probably had been captured that night. 



FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 72, NO. 4 



The daytime situation is reflected in the 12 in- 

 dividuals speared during afternoons, all perched 

 in exposed positions on the reef when collected. 

 Ten of these (71 to 101 mm) rested on Pocillopora, 

 and two (95 and 97 mm) rested on rocks. Ten had 

 stomachs full of food, much of it fresh, and al- 

 though the remaining two had empty stomachs, 

 their intestines were full. 



Specimens collected at other times of day and 

 night offer less conclusive data. Of nine speared at 

 night (between 3 and 5 h after sunset), seven were 

 deep among coral branches, but two rested in ex- 

 posed positions (the latter situation was only 

 rarely seen). Six of these had food in their 

 stomachs, but although the material was well- 

 digested in five, the sixth was full of a species of 

 cyclopoid copepod that often swarmed around our 

 diving lights for about 30 min, an hour or so after 

 last evening light. Finally, of the seven speared 

 within 2 h after sunrise as they rested on top of 

 Pocillopora heads, four had the stomachs empty 

 and three contained fresh prey. Identifiable ma- 

 terial occurred in 20 of the 46 specimens exam- 

 ined, as listed in Table 49. 



Hiatt and Strasburg (1960), reporting on this 

 species from the Marshall Islands, remarked that 

 it habitually lies motionless on the upper surface 

 of living coral heads and listed a diet of crusta- 

 ceans and fishes. 



CONCLUSION. — Paracirrhites arcatus is a 

 diurnal predator that feeds primarily on xanthid 

 crabs and other benthic crustaceans. 



Paracirrhites forsteri (Bloch and Schneider) — 

 hi! II pili ko'a 



This hawkfish is numerous in coral-rich areas, 

 where it rests immobile in exposed positions on 

 the reef during the day (Figure 32). Its attitude is 



Table 49. — Food of Paracirrhites arcatus. 



986 



