CENTRISCIDAE


Aeoliscus strigatus, 7.0 cm SL
(photo by Ukkrit Satapoomin)



Aeoliscus strigatus
(photo by Ukkrit Satapoomin)


Aeoliscus strigatus
(Günther, 1861)
Shrimpfish (Razorfish)

D III, 9-10; A 9-12; P1 10-12.

Body encased in an armor of thin, transparent plates. First dorsal spine hinged at its base, slightly movable, with a movable spinous ray at it end. Interorbital space striated, convex, without a longitudinal groove. Color: variable in color with habitat; yellowish brown to pale green on back, silvery on sides; black stripe running from snout through eye, to the base of spinous dorsal fin. Size: maximum length about 15 cm.

Distribution: Indo-West Pacific, from Tanzania and Seychelles to New Caledonia, north to southern Japan, south to New South Wales, Australia. Remarks: found in seagrass beds and coral reefs in the depth range of 1-20 m. Form schools among the spines of Diadema or staghorn corals, and feed on minute crustaceans in the zooplankton.