The redfingers (Cheilodactylus fasciatus) is a species of marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the family Cheilodactylidae, commonly referred to as morwongs. It is found only off the coasts of Namibia and South Africa, in rock pools and from shallow depths to 120 m, on rocky reef areas. Its length is up to 30 cm. Taxonomy The redfingers was first formally described in 1803 by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède with the type locality given as the Cape of Good Hope. When Lacépède wrote his description this was the only species in the genus Cheilodactylus and so is its type species and that of the family Cheilodactylidae. Phylogenetic analyses and genetic studies of the morwongs have not supported the traditional arrangement of the families Cheilodactylidae and Latridae. This has led to some authorities suggesting that the majority of species in Cheilodactylidae should be placed in Latridae. A result of this rearrangement is that the only species which would remain in Cheilodactylidae are this species and C. pixi, both from southern Africa. This is because these analyses resolved the genus Cheilodactylus as polyphyletic. These studies appear to show that most of the species in Cheilodactylus sensu lato instead apparently to belong in several different genera and are not even members of the same family, but how many and their exact delimitation is not clear at present. The outlier species have been assigned to Chirodactylus, Goniistius, Morwong and Pseudogoniistius, but DNA and morphologic analyses found those species to be nested within Latridae and more derived than the kelpfish, marblefish and this species. The specific name fasciatus means "banded", a reference to the bars on the back and flanks of this species. Description The redfingers has body which is oval in shape, with a depth that fits into its standard length 3.2 to 3.7 times. It has a small mouth,. pointed snout and a slightly concave breast. The dorsal fin has 17-19 spines and 23-25 soft rays while the anal fin contains3 spines and 9-11 soft rays. This species attains a maximum total length of . The pectoral fins have 14 rays with the lower 4-5 rays enlarged and red in colour. There are four wide reddish-brown stripes on lower flanks and five quadrangular marks on the upper flanks which line up with the stripes on the rear of body. The head covered with rectangular spots and dashes and the caudal fin