| Family: |
Holocentridae (Squirrelfishes, soldierfishes), subfamily: Holocentrinae |
| Max. size: |
20 cm TL (male/unsexed) |
| Environment: |
reef-associated; marine; depth range 0 - 183 m |
| Distribution: |
Indo-Pacific: Chagos Archipelago, Astove in Seychelles, and Maldives to the Hawaiian, Line, and Tuamoto Islands, north to the Ryukyu and Bonin Islands, south to Austral Islands; throughout Micronesia. |
| Diagnosis: |
Dorsal spines (total): 11-11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12-14; Anal spines: 4-4; Anal soft rays: 9-10. Body with red and white stripes of different widths; head reddish above, silvery below; faint red band from eye to angle of preopercle; spinous dorsal white, with a submarginal zone of red (Ref. 4201). Five oblique scale rows on cheek; body moderately elongated, depth 2.9-3.5 in SL; head length (HL) 2.8-3.4 in SL; snout length 3.9-4.35 in HL; interorbital width 4.15-4.5 in HL; maxillary reaching to about below front of iris, upper jaw length 2.85-3.15 in HL; premaxillary groove reaching to about a vertical at the front edge of orbit; anterior end of nasal bone rounded; 1-2 spinules at medial margin of nasal bone; small nasal fossa without spinules on its edge (except a 16.3 cm specimen from the Society Islands with 1 spinule); upper edge of suborbital bone weakly serrated, spineless laterally; short preopercular spine 1/4-1/3 orbit diameter, 6.15-7.95 in HL; 3rd-5th dorsal spine longest 1.5-1.95 in HL; extremely long 3rd anal spine 1.0-1.2 in HL (Ref. 27370). |
| Biology: |
Inhabits virtually all coral reef zones (Ref. 1602). Benthopelagic in or near crevices and holes (Ref. 58302). Common in thickets of staghorn Acropora or in large Pocillopora heads (Ref. 1602). Feeds on small crustaceans, worms, and fishes during the night (Ref. 30874). Spine of preopercle venomous. Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 128797. |
| IUCN Red List Status: |
Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 04 March 2015 Ref. (130435)
|
| Threat to humans: |
venomous |
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