---
title: Robinson's Sandperch (Parapercis robinsoni)
scientific_name: Parapercis robinsoni
common_name: Robinson's Sandperch
taxon: Sandperch
published: 2026-08-11T09:21:55.213Z
updated: 2026-08-11T09:41:38.879Z
tags: Robinson's Sandperch, Parapercis robinsoni, Sandperch, Red Sea, Marine Life, Diving
url: https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/sandperch/robinsons-sandperch
---

# Robinson's Sandperch (*Parapercis robinsoni*)

## Quick facts

- **Group:** Sandperch (*Pinguipedidae*)
- **Size:** up to 20 cm
- **Depth:** 5-40 m
- **Diet:** Carnivore
- **Activity:** Diurnal
- **Rarity:** Uncommon
- **Habitat:** Sand and rubble patches between coral heads
- **Reproduction:** Egg layer, Protogynous hermaphrodite

## How to recognise it

- props itself on stiff pelvic fins, body raised off the sand
- row of dark blotches along the side
- eyes set high on a flattened head, watching upward
- length up to 20 cm

A sand-patch predator that props itself on stiff pelvic fins like a dog on its front legs, body raised, eyes set high on a flattened head so it can watch the water above without moving. A row of dark blotches runs along the side, and the fish shifts position in short darts rather than swimming.

It hunts small fish, shrimps and worms with the ambush-and-lunge method the family shares, and it is territorial enough that the same individual can be found on the same patch of rubble across a season. Divers meet it constantly on sandy stretches between coral heads and rarely give it a second look, which is a pity, because it is one of the few reef fishes that will hold position and watch a photographer back.

Like many sandperches it begins life female and can change to male later, so the largest fish on a patch is usually the male of a small harem. That switch is the ordinary arrangement in this family rather than an oddity.

## Also known as

- **English:** Smallscale Sandperch, smallscale sandsmelt
- **Portuguese:** Michole-africano
- **Russian:** Песчаный окунь Робинсона

## Range

Federal Republic of Somalia, Mozambique, South Africa

---

*Source: [Red Sea Creatures](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/sandperch/robinsons-sandperch)*
*Updated: August 11, 2026*