Emperors
emperors
Redfin Bream
Monotaxis heterodon
About
This reef fish is so similar to its larger cousin, the bigeye emperor, that the two were once thought to be the same species.
How to tell it apart
This species is easily confused with the closely related bigeye emperor, which it was once classed together with. On adults, check the pectoral-fin armpit for a black blotch and look for thin, faint white bars on the back rather than bold, wide ones. On juveniles, look for the absence of a dark bar through the eye and the absence of black blotches, both of which the bigeye emperor's young have.
Appearance
The body is an overall greyish color, broken by thin white vertical bars along the back. There is a black blotch at the axil (armpit, where the fin meets the body) of the pectoral fin, the lips are brownish to reddish, and the fins are tinged yellowish to reddish. Juveniles lack a dark bar through the eye and lack black blotches.
Habitat
It occurs across the Indian and western Pacific Oceans, from the Seychelles and Maldives to Indonesia and the Great Barrier Reef, on sheltered coral reefs.
Did you know?
Its species name, heterodon, means 'different teeth', a reference to its single row of molar-like teeth, unlike the two or three rows found in the related genus Pagrus.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
