Despite being red, this species can be very difficult to find amongst the base of seaweeds. Females lay eggs at the base of seagrass or green Caulerpa seaweeds in spring and stand guard until they hatch. Arguably one of the rarest marine fish species in the world. Found at Port Arthur in the 1800's and once spread across south-eastern Tasmania, it is now only known from two small patches of rocky reef in south-eastern Tasmania, with the number of adults believed to be less than 100-150. RLS monitoring data were critical in the evaluation of this species for the IUCN red list and categorisation as Critically Endangered.

*note the occurrence information below reflects its occurrence at the one site monitored by RLS divers within its known distribution.

• Max Size: 10 cm
• Sea Temperature Range: 9.6-18.5°C
• Depth: 2 - 7 m
• Habitat: Rocky Reef, Seagrass

• Threats: Climate change/warming, Exploitation, Habitat degradation, Invasive species
• IUCN Threat Status: Critically Endangered
• Occurrence: Widespread (100% of sites)
  Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
• Abundance: Few (2 per transect)
  Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.