Cardinal fish

This small reef fish hides by day in caves and shadowy overhangs, coming out to feed only after dark. It grows up to 15 cm long.

Also known as: fucinata, mediterranean cardinalfish, mediterranean cardinalfish, king of the mullets, cardinal fish

Several small reddish reef fish can look alike in the dim light of caves. Check the base of the tail fin: this species carries two or three dark spots there, sometimes fused together, that other cardinalfish lack.

The body is short, deep, and flattened side to side, with a large head and a very large eye. The mouth is wide and angled upward, with the lower jaw jutting out. Colour is red to pink over the whole body, with a darker shade across the back and the top of the head.

Lives on rocky reefs and in dark caves and overhangs, from about 10 to 200 m, across the Mediterranean and the warm eastern Atlantic. It favours muddy or rocky bottoms and shady ledges, often forming large groups just outside cave mouths.

Active at night, it spends the day resting in caves and crevices, alone or in groups, then moves out over rocky ground and seagrass meadows to feed after dark. Fish often move into deeper water during winter.

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  Banggai Cardinalfish

  Pterapogon kauderni

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  Cardinalfish

  cardinalfish_g300

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  Flamefish

  Apogon maculatus

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  Ringtail Cardinalfish

  Ostorhinchus aureus