Parapercis stricticeps
A small, uncommon sandperch logged on reefs in New South Wales and Queensland, in water from 19 to 25C, year-round.
A slim, cylindrical little fish that sits propped on its pelvic fins on sand or rubble rather than swimming in open water, topping out around 13 cm. Look for a pale to sandy body with fine dark streaking along the upper flank and a light stripe near the head that gives the species its name. It has the classic sandperch head shape: a pointed snout and slightly upturned mouth, always angled to watch you rather than the reef.
Typically seen perched still on sand, rubble or low reef structure, propped up on its fins rather than actively swimming. It tends to hold its ground at a short distance rather than bolting, letting a slow diver get a good look before it shuffles off to another perch nearby. Most sightings are on the seabed adjacent to reef rather than up in the water column.
Like other sandperches, it rests propped on its pelvic and pectoral fins instead of hovering, a habit that makes it easy to mistake for reef debris until it moves.
Sightings span a temperature range of 19.2 to 25.2C with no detected seasonal pattern, so treat it as a year-round possibility on NSW reefs rather than a species tied to a particular month.
Reef neighbours a diver could mistake it for. Use the identification notes above to tell them apart.
Logged sites are concentrated in Australia, with New South Wales the strongest region and a further site recorded in Queensland. Divers looking specifically for this sandperch should focus on temperate and subtropical reef and rubble sites along the NSW coast, where it turns up as an uncommon but reliable find.
Mapping where Whitestreak Grubfish is logged…
It has been logged almost entirely in Australia, with New South Wales the strongest region and an additional record from Queensland. It is an uncommon sighting even at those sites, so patient sand and rubble scanning pays off.
There is no clear seasonal pattern in the sighting data, and it has been recorded in water from 19.2 to 25.2C, so it is a year-round possibility on NSW reefs rather than a seasonal target.
Look for a small, slender fish around 13 cm resting propped on sand or rubble, with a sandy body, fine dark streaking along the back and a pale streak near the head. It sits still rather than swimming, which helps separate it from more active reef fish nearby.
They are small, reaching roughly 13 cm, so they are easy to overlook against sand or rubble unless you are scanning closely.
No, they pose no danger to divers and simply rest on the substrate, moving off a short distance if approached too closely.
Site and sighting data is aggregated from diver logs, iNaturalist and GBIF. For taxonomy and conservation status:
Spotted Sandperch
705 sites
