
golden curlyfin
Cirrhitichthys aureus
- Usual depth25–64 m
- Water temperature20–29 °C
- Best monthsApril, July, and September
- How commonRare
Photo credit: no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
About this species
Cirrhitichthys aureus, the yellow hawkfish, the golden hawkfish or golden curlyfin, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a hawkfish belonging to the family Cirrhitidae. It is native to tropical reefs of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Cirrhitichthys aureus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 5 records
- February: 7 records
- March: 8 records
- April: 25 records
- May: 19 records
- June: 23 records
- July: 26 records
- August: 10 records
- September: 27 records
- October: 22 records
- November: 9 records
- December: 1 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 25–64 m · Deepest record: 63.5 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 20–29 °C
Photos

(c) Nicola Crockford, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) 呂一起(Lyu yi-chi), some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Jay Paroline, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Julien Renoult, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) 呂一起(Lyu yi-chi), some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- golden curlyfin, Golden Hawkfish, Yellow hawkfish
Names in 5 more languages
- Spanish
- Halcón dorado
- Japanese
- Okigombe, オキゴンベ
- Korean
- 황붉돔
- Thai
- ปลากะพงเหลืองครีบเส้น
- Simplified Chinese
- 格仔, 深水格, 金䱵
Other scientific names: Cirrhites aureus
Similar species
Coral hawkfishCirrhitichthys oxycephalus
Spotted hawkfishCirrhitichthys aprinus
Dwarf hawkfishCirrhitichthys falco
Spottedtail HawkfishCirrhitichthys calliurus
- Cave Hawkfish
Cirrhitichthys guichenoti
Arc-eye hawkfishParacirrhites arcatus
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 44 open-data records from 1931 to 2017.
- Species data updated November 1, 2026.
Log what you see on your next dive
The free DiveHive diver app keeps your logbook with every sighting and shows what lives at the site you dive next.