APOGONIDAE


Archamia ataenia, 4.4 cm SL
(photo by Ukkrit Satapoomin)



Archamia ataenia
(photo by Ukkrit Satapoomin)


Archamia ataenia
Randall and Satapoomin, 1999
Double Cheek-bar Cardinalfish

D VI+I, 9; A II, 14-16; P1 13-14; LLp 25.

Body oblong, moderately deep and compressed; lateral line well developed, extending posteriorly to caudalfin base. Snout moderately pointed. Posterior margin of preopercle serrated. No enlarged caninoid teeth on jaws. Base of anal fin longer than base of second dorsal fin in length; caudal fin emarginate. Scaly sheath developed around base of anal fin. Color: translucent gray with a small black caudal spot and no bars on body; 2 narrow dusky orange bars on gill cover; a broad black stripe on side of snout, edged in iridescent blue-green lines that continue onto iris; iris black; a midventral blackish orange-red streak on thorax and abdomen; fins largely transparent. Size: 5 cm SL. Distribution: Andaman Sea and Mentawai Islands off southwestern Sumatra. Remarks: strongly reef-associated, usually found in association with branching corals, mainly Acropora spp., down to at least 10 m. Often found in large aggregations or sometimes in mixed species aggregations with other cardinalfishes, such as Apogon leptacanthus, A. perlitus, A. thermalis, and A. fuscus.