Holocentridae
Holocentrus ascensionis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Beryciformes Family: Holocentridae
Subfamilies and genera
Holocentrinae Holocentrus Neoniphon Sargocentron Myripristinae Corniger Myripristis Ostichthys Plectrypops Pristilepis

The Holocentridae is a family of ray-finned fish, with the members of the subfamily Holocentrinae typically known as squirrelfish, while the members of Myripristinae typically are known as soldierfish. In Hawaii they are known as mempachi.

They are found in tropical parts of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, with the greatest species diversity near reefs in the Indo-Pacific. Most are found at depths from the shoreline to 100 m (330 ft), but some, notably the members of the genus Ostichthys, are generally found far deeper. Being largely or entirely nocturnal, they have relatively large eyes. During the day they typically remain hidden in crevices, caves, or under ledges. Red and silvery colours dominate. The preopercle spines (near the gill-opening) of the members of the subfamily Holocentrinae are venomous, and can give painful wounds. Most have a maximum length of 15-35 cm (6-14 in), but Sargocentron iota barely reaches 8 cm (3 in), and S. spiniferum and Holocentrus adscensionis can reach more than 50 cm (20 in). The squirrelfishes mainly feed on small fishes and benthic invertebrates, while the soldierfishes typically feed on zooplankton.

Species

There are more than 80 species in eight genera:

• Subfamily Holocentrinae
  • Genus Holocentrus Scopoli, 1777.
    • Holocentrus adscensionis, Squirrelfish, (Osbeck, 1765).
    • Holocentrus rufus, Longspine squirrelfish, (Walbaum, 1792).
  • Genus Neoniphon Castelnau, 1875.
    • Neoniphon argenteus, Clearfin squirrelfish, (Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1831).
    • Neoniphon aurolineatus, Yellowstriped squirrelfish, (Liénard, 1839).
    • Neoniphon marianus, Longjaw squirrelfish, (Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829).
    • Neoniphon opercularis, Blackfin soldier, (Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1831).
    • Neoniphon sammara, Sammara squirrelfish, (Forsskål, 1775).
  • Genus Sargocentron Fowler, 1904.
    • Sargocentron bullisi, Deepwater squirrelfish, (Woods, 1955).
    • Sargocentron caudimaculatum, Silverspot squirrelfish, (Rüppell, 1838).
    • Sargocentron cornutum, Threespot squirrelfish, (Bleeker, 1853).
    • Sargocentron coruscum, Reef squirrelfish, (Poey, 1860).
    • Sargocentron diadema, Crown squirrelfish, (Lacepède, 1802).
    • Sargocentron dorsomaculatum, Spotfin squirrelfish, (Shimizu and Yamakawa, 1979).
    • Sargocentron ensifer, Yellow-striped squirrelfish, (Jordan and Evermann, 1903).
    • Sargocentron furcatum (Günther, 1859).
    • Sargocentron hastatum, Red squirrelfish, (Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829).
      

      Sabre squirrelfish, Sargocentron speniferun, from the Red Sea
    • Sargocentron hormion Randall, 1998.
    • Sargocentron inaequalis, Lattice squirrelfish, Randall and Heemstra, 1985.
    • Sargocentron iota, Dwarf squirrelfish, Randall, 1998.
    • Sargocentron ittodai, Samurai squirrelfish, (Jordan and Fowler, 1902).
    • Sargocentron lepros, Spiny squirrelfish, (Allen and Cross, 1983).
    • Sargocentron macrosquamis, Bigscale squirrelfish, Golani, 1984.
    • Sargocentron marisrubri Randall, Golani and Diamant, 1989.
    • Sargocentron megalops Randall, 1998.
    • Sargocentron melanospilos, Blackblotch squirrelfish, (Bleeker, 1858).
    • Sargocentron microstoma, Smallmouth squirrelfish, (Günther, 1859).
    • Sargocentron poco, Saddle squirrelfish, (Woods, 1965).
    • Sargocentron praslin, Dark-striped squirrelfish, (Lacepède, 1802).
    • Sargocentron punctatissimum, Speckled squirrelfish, (Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829).
    • Sargocentron rubrum, Redcoat, (Forsskål, 1775).
    • Sargocentron seychellense, Yellow-tipped squirrelfish, (Smith and Smith, 1963).
    • Sargocentron shimizui Randall, 1998.
    • Sargocentron spiniferum, Sabre squirrelfish, (Forsskål, 1775).
    • Sargocentron spinosissimum (Temminck ans Schlegel, 1843).
    • Sargocentron suborbitalis, Tinsel squirrelfish, (Gill, 1863).
    • Sargocentron tiere, Blue lined squirrelfish, (Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829).
      

      Diver and Blackbar Soldierfish, Myripristis jacobus, at St. Croix, Virgin Islands
    • Sargocentron tiereoides, Pink squirrelfish, (Bleeker, 1853).
    • Sargocentron vexillarium, Dusky squirrelfish, (Poey, 1860).
    • Sargocentron violaceum, Violet squirrelfish, (Bleeker, 1853).
    • Sargocentron wilhelmi (de Buen, 1963).
    • Sargocentron xantherythrum, Hawaiian squirrelfish, (Jordan and Evermann, 1903).
• Subfamily Myripristinae
  • Genus Corniger Agassiz in Spix and Agassiz, 1831.
    • Corniger spinosus, Spinycheek soldierfish, Agassiz in Spix and Agassiz, 1831.
  • Genus Myripristis Cuvier, 1829.
    • Myripristis adusta, Shadowfin soldierfish, Bleeker, 1853.
    • Myripristis amaena, Brick soldierfish, (Castelnau, 1873).
    • Myripristis astakhovi Kotlyar, 1997.
    • Myripristis aulacodes Randall and Greenfield, 1996.
    • Myripristis berndti, Blotcheye soldierfish, Jordan and Evermann, 1903.
    • Myripristis botche, Blacktip soldierfish, Curvier, 1829.
    • Myripristis chryseres, Yellowfin soldierfish, Jordan and Evermann, 1903.
    • Myripristis clarionensis, Yellow soldierfish, Gilbert, 1897.
    • Myripristis earlei, Earle's soldierfish, Randall, Allen & Robertson, 2003.
    • Myripristis formosa Randall and Greenfield, 1996.
    • Myripristis gildi, Clipperton cardinal soldierfish, Greenfield, 1965.
    • Myripristis greenfieldi Randall and Yamakawa, 1996.
    • Myripristis hexagona, Doubletooth soldierfish, (Lacepède, 1802).
    • Myripristis jacobus, Blackbar soldierfish, Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829.
    • Myripristis kochiensis Randall and Yamakawa, 1996.
    • Myripristis kuntee, Shoulderbar soldierfish, Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1831.
    • Myripristis leiognathus, Panamic soldierfish, Valenciennes, 1846.
    • Myripristis murdjan, Pinecone soldierfish, (Forsskål, 1775).
    • Myripristis pralinia, Scarlet soldierfish, Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829.
      

      Blackbar Soldierfish, Myripristis jacobus, at Kona, Hawaii
    • Myripristis randalli Greenfield, 1974.
    • Myripristis robusta Randall and Greenfield, 1996.
    • Myripristis seychellensis, Seychelles soldier, Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829.
    • Myripristis tiki Greenfield, 1974.
    • Myripristis trachyacron Bleeker, 1863.
    • Myripristis violacea, Lattice soldierfish, Bleeker, 1851.
    • Myripristis vittata, Whitetip soldierfish, Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1831.
    • Myripristis woodsi, Whitespot soldierfish, Greenfield, 1974.
    • Myripristis xanthacra, Yellowtip soldierfish, Randall and Guézé, 1981.
  • Genus Ostichthys Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829.
    • Ostichthys acanthorhinus Randall, Shimizu and Yamakawa, 1982.
    • Ostichthys archiepiscopus, Longsnout soldier, (Valenciennes, 1862).
    • Ostichthys brachygnathus Randall and Myers, 1993.
    • Ostichthys delta Randall, Shimizu and Yamakawa, 1982.
    • Ostichthys hypsipterygion Randall, Shimizu and Yamakawa, 1982.
    • Ostichthys japonicus, Brocade perch, (Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829).
      

      Shoal of Hawaiian squirrelfish, Sargocentron xantherythrum, at the Rapture Reef, French Frigate Shoals
    • Ostichthys kaianus, Deepwater soldier, (Günther, 1880).
    • Ostichthys ovaloculus Randall and Wrobel, 1988.
    • Ostichthys sandix Randall, Shimizu and Yamakawa, 1982.
    • Ostichthys sheni Chen, Shao and Mok, 1990.
    • Ostichthys trachypoma, Bigeye soldierfish, (Günther, 1859).
  • Genus Plectrypops Gill, 1862.
    • Plectrypops lima, Shy soldier, (Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1831).
    • Plectrypops retrospinis, Cardinal soldierfish, (Guichenot, 1853).
  • Genus Pristilepis Randall, Shimizu and Yamakawa, 1982.
    • Pristilepis oligolepis, Spinyface soldier, (Whitley, 1941).

References

• "Holocentridae". FishBase. Ed. Rainer Froese and Daniel Pauly. February 2008 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2008.
• Allen, Gerry. 1999. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and south-east Asia. ISBN 0 7309 8363 3
• Debelius, Helmut. 1993. Indian Ocean Tropical Fish Guide. ISBN 3-927991-01-5
• Lieske, Ewald, & Robert Myers. 1999. Coral Reef Fishes - Caribbean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean including the Red Sea. 2nd edition. ISBN 0-691-00481-1
• Randall, John E. 2005. Reef and Shore Fishes of the South Pacific.. ISBN 0824826981

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Holocentridae". Image Credit.

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