Scientific Name	Hoplolatilus starcki   Pronounce			by: ©Randall, John E.
Author	Randall & Dooley, 1974	Depth	20 - 105M
Chinese	斯氏似弱棘魚	Poisonous Fish	No
Family_Chinese	弱棘魚科	Economic Fish	No
Family	F355　Malacanthidae	Edible Fish	Yes	Chinese In Mainland China	斯氏似弱棘魚
Max Length	15 cm	Aquarium Fish	No	Common Name	弱棘魚
Distribution in World	Australia	Distribution in Taiwan	Nan Sa IS.
Habitats	Benthos、Coastal	Holotype Locality	Outside fringing reef, nw. Cocos I., Guam, Mariana Is., 75 ft
Synonyms
Reference	The Live Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific, Vol.4(FAO,1999)；Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea(Randall et al.,1990)  Randall, J. E. etc. 1974 Randall, J. E., G. R. Allen etc. 1990
Specimen List	ASIZP0056995.
Common Name	Purple-headed sand tilefish; Starck' tilefish; Stark's tilefish; Blue tilefish
Redlist Status	Not in IUCN Redlist
Characteristic	Body elongate, fusiform or nearly cylindrical, with blunt snout; body depth 3.7 to 4.6 times in standard length; preopercle serrate; opercle with sharp spine at angle; no predorsal ridge. Dorsal fin with VIII spines and 21 to 24 soft rays; anal fin with II spines and 15 or 16 soft rays; total gill rakers on first gill arch 22 to 27; lateral-line scales 100 to 118; caudal fin deeply forked. Body tan with a large bright blue area over head area from below upper eye to thorax past base of pectoral fins; dorsal and anal fins light yellow, the dorsal fin with some blue; caudal fin bright yellow except upper and lower and central posterior margins which are whitish; young completely blue.
habitats	Inhabits patches of talus or rubble of steep outer reef slopes. Usually seen in pairs that quickly dive headfirst into their burrow when disturbed. Juveniles occasionally school with similarly colored juveniles of Pseudanthias pascalus.
Distribution	Distributed in Western Pacific from Moluccas and Philippines to Timor, north to the Mariana Islands, south to Rowley Shoals and New Caledonia; throughout Micronesia. Range extends to Pitcairn. It is very rare and only found South China Sea.
Utility	Aquarium fishes.