[2] The dwarf hawkfish was first formally described in 1963 by the American ichthyologist John Ernest Randall with the type locality given as Davao Gulf, Mindanao in the Philippines.

[3] The specific name falco is Latin for “falcon”, Randall did not explain the name but it may be a play on the common name hawkfish.

The pectoral fins are thick and elongated and spread out when the fish is resting on the substrate.

Its range extends from the eastern coast of Africa and the Maldives to Samoa, the Ryukyu Islands, northern Australia, the Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia.

It usually occurs singly but may be in pairs and feeds on fish larvae, small crustaceans and other invertebrates on the seabed.