HOLOCENTRIDAE


Sargocentron rubrum, 13.7 cm SL
(photo by Seishi Kimura)



Sargocentron rubrum
(photo by Ukkrit Satapoomin)


Sargocentron rubrum
(Forsskål, 1775)
Redcoat

D XI, 12-14; A IV, 8-10; P1 13-15; LLp 34-38; GR 6-8 + 9-12.

Body moderately deep; dorsal profile of head convex; snout short and blunt; corner of preopercle with a sharp spine; nasal fossa without spinules. Scale rows above lateral line to middle of spinous portion of dorsal fin 2.5; cheek with 5 oblique rows of scales. Color: body with alternating brownish red and silvery white stripes of about equal width; a triangular streak of brownish red on cheek from eye to corner of preopercle; spinous dorsal fin red with white-tipped spines and a large quadrangular whitish blotch on each membrane; an elongate brown spot beneath soft portion of dorsal fin and a roundish blotch above base of soft portion of anal fin; upper and lower edges of caudal fin with red to brownish red band, with a very narrow bluish white margin. Size: maximum length about 32 cm, commonly to 20 cm. Distribution: Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea to the western Pacific where it ranges from southern Japan to New Caledonia and New South Wales, Australia. Remarks: inhabits coastal reefs or silty reefs in lagoons, bays, or harbors.