Sargocentron punctatissimum

Family : Holocentridae

Common Name : Peppered squirrelfish

Scientific Name : Sargocentron punctatissimum

Maximum length : 13cm

IUCN Red List Status : LC (Least concern)

Pink, grading to silvery white on lower parts with fine, pepper-like spotting covering body, and spinous dorsal fin with broad red margin and white spine tips.

Inhabits surge-swept tunnels and crevices of the reef margin and reef front. Rarely occurs below 30 m, but has been observed at depths of 101 to 183 m in the Hawaiian Islands; majority of specimens collected in less than 3 m, often in tide pools. Benthopelagic. It disperses at night over sand flats and open reef bottom to feed on small crustaceans, crustacean larvae, and polychaete worms. Spine of preopercle venomous.

From Bali Strait to Timor Sea; with an Indonesian distribution from Moluccas to Sulawesi. Natuna Islands.

Photo courtesy Wisnu Purwanto

Photo courtesy Patrick Randall