Apogonichthyoides melas
Black Cardinalfish
©Isla Davidson: Apogonichthyoides melas in the Lizard Island lagoon. Note the large dorsal and anal fins. Tail lobes also rounded but not visible in this photo. This specimen is probably a juvenile. It lacks a large ocellated spot on the second dorsal fin that is present in adults.
©Makeely Blandford: Apogonichthyoides melas about 3 cm long and less than 2 months old, caught in a light trap at Lizard Island and raised in aquarium.
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Actinopterygii
Order
Perciformes
Family
Apogonidae
Genus
Apogonichthyoides
Species
Apogonichthyoides melas
Colours
Distinguishing features
A nocturnal fish that hides in dark crevices during the day. Found in shallow, well-sheltered areas. The dorsal, pelvic and anal fins are distinctively elongate and rounded. Adult forms can have an ocellus on the 2nd dorsal fin-base and indistinct broad bars on the body; neither of these features are present in the juvenile (pictured), which is dark brown/black all over. (Contributed by Tim Gordon)
Size
- Size data has not been obtained.
Depth range
- Depth range data is not yet available.
Synonyms
Distribution
©Atlas of Living Australia: Australian distribution
Local abundance
- Lizard Island: Rarely seen, cryptic
Web resources
References
- Luehrmann, M. (2018). Colour vision diversity in coral reef fishes: Cardinalfish (Apogonidae). PhD thesis, University of Queensland. LIRS catalog number 2325.
- Luehrmann, M., F. Cortesi, K.L. Cheney, F. de Busseroles and N.J. Marshall (2020). Microhabitat partitioning correlates with opsin gene expression in coral reef cardinalfishes (Apogonidae). Functional Ecology, 34: 1041-1052. LIRS catalog number 2448.