Yellow-Striped Squirrelfish

Scientific Name: Sargocentron ensiferum
Family: Squirrelfishes - Holocentridae
Maximum Size: 25cm
Identification: Red with narrow yellow stripes dorsally and white stripes ventrally, yellow spiny dorsal fin with red margin.
Favourite: Solitary or form groups.
Hide-out: Usually on seaward coral reefs or rocky bottoms in 18-50m.
Location: Pacific - Taiwan and S.W. Japan south to New Caledonia and Samoa; west to Hawaii and Pitcaim I. east of French Polynesia.

Violet Squirrelfish

Scientific Name: Sargocentron violaceum
Family: Squirrelfishes - Holocentridae
Maximum Size: 25cm
Identification: Red head, body purplish to brownish red with vertical bluish streak on each scale; rear margin of gill cover blackish.
Hide-out: Coral-rich clear water lagoons and seaward reefs to 25m.
Location: Indo-Pacific - E. Africa to Vanuatu, Samoa, Line Is. in eastern Central Pacific. S.W. Japan to Australia.

Tailspot Squirrelfish

Scientific Name: Sargocentron caudimaculatum
Family: Squirrelfishes - Holocentridae
Maximum Size: 25cm
Identification: Red with varable amount of silvery white on rear body and tail base; silver-white streak above upper edge of gill cover.
Favourite: Solitary or form loose groups.
Hide-out: Coral-rich areas of outer reefs, frequently on steep dropoffs in 6-40m.
Location: Indo-Pacific - Red Sea and E. Africa to French Polynesia. S. Japan to Great Barrier Reef.

Redcoat Squirrelfish

Scientific Name: Sargocentron rubrum
Family: Squirrelfishes - Holocentridae
Maximum Size: 27cm
Identification: Alternating reddish brown and white stripes; often dark streak on tail base and on bases of rear dorsal and anal fins.
Favourite: Solitary or form small groups.
Hide-out: Frequently on silty reefs and wrecks in lagoons, bays and harbors to 84m.
Location: Indo-Asian Pacific - Red Sea and E. Africa to S.W. Japan, south to Australia, New Caledonia and Vanuatu.

Peppered Squirrelfish

Scientific Name: Sargocentron punctatissimum
Family: Squirrelfishes - Holocentridae
Maximum Size: 20cm
Identification: Pink gradating to silvery belly with fine spotting and indistinct stripes; spiny dorsal fin with white tips, red border and row of white spots below.
Favourite: Solitary or form groups.
Hide-out: Tide pools, reef flats and sub-tidal reefs to 30m.
Location: Indo-Pacific - Red sea and E. Africa to Hawaii and Easter I. in southeastern Pacific. S. Japan to Australia.

Dwarf Squirrelfish

Scientific Name: Sargocentron iota
Family: Squirrelfishes - Holocentridae
Maximum Size: 8cm
Identification: Red without distinctive markings; tail lobes rounded, scales with serrated edges.
Favourite: Solitary and cryptic; lurk in caves and recesses.
Hide-out: Steep outer reef slopes to 34m.
Location: Indo-West Pacific - Christmas I. to Indonesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Fiji and Hawaii.

Crown Squirrelfish

Scientific Name: Sargocentron diadema
Family: Squirrelfishes - Holocentridae
Maximum Size: 17cm
Identification: Alternating red and white stripes; dark red to black spiny dorsal fin with white spine tips and white streak through middle.
Favourite: Solitary or form small groups.
Hide-out: Tidal flats and deeper areas of lagoon and seaward reefs to 40m.
Location: Indo-Pacific - Red sea and E. Africa to Hawaii and Pitcaim I. east of French Polynesia. S.W. Japan to Australia.

Gold-Lined Squirrelfish

Scientific Name: Neoniphon aurolineatus
Family: Squirrelfishes - Holocentridae
Maximum Size: 25cm
Identification: Silvery white to pinkish with yellow stripes between scale rows; yellow pectoral fin base, red bar across nape and gill cover.
Favourite: Solitary or form small groups.
Hide-out: Steep outer reef slopes in 30-160m.
Location: Indo-Asian Pacific - Comoro Is. to Hawaii. S.W. Japan to Great Barrier Reef.