Neocirrhites armatus
| Neocirrhites armatus | ||||||||||||
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Fire coral guardian Neocirrhites armatus |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Neocirrhites | ||||||||||||
| Castelnau , 1873 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Neocirrhites armatus | ||||||||||||
| Castelnau, 1873 |
Neocirrhites armatus , the fire coral guardian , is a species native to tropical reefs of the western Pacific Ocean at depths of usually 10 to 15 meters. It is the only known species of the monotypical genus Neocirrhites . This species can also be found in the aquarium trade.
features
Neocirrhites armatus reaches a body length of 9 centimeters TL . The body is high back and flattened on the sides. The number of scales on the sideline is 42 to 45, above that in the middle of the body there are 4 rows of large scales (6 at the beginning of the dorsal fin), below that up to the beginning of the anal 10 to 11 Arranged in rows, the area between the eyes is blank. On the first gill arch there are 16 or 17 gill spines (5 + 1 + (10 or 11)). The gum bone (palatinum) is edentulous. The edge of the anterior cover (preoperculum) is sawn with 12 coarse teeth. The spiked rays of the dorsal fin are short, on the fin skin near the tip of each sting ray there is a tuft of cirrus .
Randall described a specimen collected at Caroline Atoll as bright red with the exception of the dark brown upper quarter to fifth. The head is red like the body except for the dorsal tip of the snout, the front part of the lower lip and a larger area next to the rear edge of the eyes which are dark brown. All fins except the dorsal fin are bright red. The portion of the dorsal fin with spiked rays is dark brown to the red-orange edge of the fin skin. The portion of the dorsal fin with soft rays is dark brown in the lower third, the upper two thirds are also red-orange.
- Fin formula : dorsal X / 13, anal III / 6–7.
distribution
Neocirrhites armatus is distributed in the western Pacific from Japan, Micronesia , Papua New Guinea via Melanesia and Polynesia to the Pitcairn Islands, south to the Great Barrier Reef , Australia.
Way of life
Neocirrhites armatus lives on the sea side of coral reefs on the reef edge or on underwater terraces between and on hard corals of the genera Stylophora and Pocillopora, into which it also retreats for protection. The species lives in depths up to a maximum of 25 meters, but usually up to 10 to 15 meters.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c IUCN
- ↑ a b c d Neocirrhites armatus on Fishbase.org (English)
- ^ A b John E. Randall: Review of the Hawkfishes (Family Cirrhitidae). In: Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 114 (3472), 1963, pp. 389-451 ( online)
Web links
- Neocirrhites armatus on Fishbase.org (English)
- Neocirrhites armatus inthe IUCN 2019-2 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: D. Greenfield, I. Williams, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2019.