Stylocheilus longicauda is a partially pelagic species. We have seen it floating in open ocean in drifting brown algae and it has been reported even on floating volcanic pumice. I found it living on the underside of floating lobster larvae collectors at Kure Atoll in 1978. In the Marshalls, we have found it at Kwajalein, where so far all specimens have been seen living on buoy lines installed by the local dive club to mark sunken shipwrecks in the lagoon. The buoy lines often get entangled with the cyanobacteria (blue-green alga) Lyngbya majuscula, in addition to sponges, barnacles, bivalves, and other encrusting organisms. Often Stylocheilus striatus can be found on the same buoy lines. Stylocheilus longicauda gets quite large; one specimen exceeded my 150mm measuring stick. We have also seen two S. longicauda in the Hawaiian Islands.
One small black eye is visible just below the right-hand rhinophore in the middle of the photo.
Created 31 January 2007