In the last few days, this little eastern footballer, mado, or Atypichthys latus, has suddenly started hanging with a family of stripeys that I've been watching - Microcanthus joyceae. But it always keeps slightly apart, aloof, even. In fact, sometimes it almost seems like it is herding them - and giving lectures! (Below left.)

As you can see from the series of photos, this guy definitely has attitude!

The mado is known as a tweed trowsess here on Norfolk Island and apparently they, and the stripeys, used to be common. There was one mado living under the raft in Emily Bay until it was pulled out of the water in the middle of 2020 for maintenance work. For months I had watched as this mado swam around upside down (above right) with a school of Norfolk Island cardinalfish. I confess that I was concerned about its fate once the raft was gone.

This little mado with its family of stripeys is the only other one I've seen in the last 12 months of taking note and photographing.