Relevant synonyms Apogon fasciatus Meristic formula D1,VII; D2, I+9; A, II+8-15; P, 15-16 ; V, I+5; LL, 24-26  photo: Daniel Golani

SHORT DESCRIPTION Body ovate, slightly compressed in its ventral part. Snout blunt with slightly oblique mouth reaching back to the vertical of eye center. Preoperculum edge serrated. Large eye. Two dorsal fins, the first spine minute, the second larger and the third the largest. A single spine a second dorsal fin, the 1st to 3rd rays are the longest. Anal fin opposite to second dorsal fin. Caudal fin forked. Color : pinkish-grey on the back, becoming silvery white on the posterior part of the belly. Two dark longitudinal stripes, the upper one from the nape to the upper base of caudal fin, the lower stripe from the tip of the snout, through the eye, to the end of the middle caudal fin rays. The fins are pinkish-orange; large specimens have series of brown dots on the membrane of second dorsal and anal fins. Size : common 2-6 cm (max. 10 cm). DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Apogon imberbis, Apogonichthoides pharaonis, Jaydia smithi: no longitudinal stripes. Jaydia queketti: series of dots forming longitudinal stripes. Cheilodipterus novemstriatus: black spots on the caudal peduncle. Teraponidae: single dorsal fin (although with deep notch between the spines and rays portion in some species); two flat spines on the operculum. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Nocturnal fish. During the day found among rocks and corals. During the night leaves the rocky habitat to feed in open areas. Feeds on zooplankton. The male incubates the eggs in its mouth.   habitat : during the day among corals and rocks, at night found in shallow open areas near soft substrate to depth of 50 m.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Israel, 2008. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : Indo-Pacific. Mediterranean : Israel to Antalya, Turkey. ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Very common. MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via the Suez Canal.  IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None. Caught in great numbers by trawl at 25-50 m, but lacks commercial value.

KEY REFERENCES Gökoglu M., Özvarol Y. and Balci B.A., 2012. Westward extension of the Indo-Pacific cardinal fish Apogon fasciatus (White, 1790) along the Turkish coast. BioInvasions Records, 1(3): 225-227. Gon O. and Randall J.E., 2003. A review of the Cardinalfishes (Perciformes: Apogonidae) of the Red Sea. Smithiana. Publications in Aquatic Biodiversity, 1:1-46. Goren M., Galil B.S., Diamant A., Gayer K. and Stern N., 2009. First record of the Indo-Pacific cardinal fish Apogon fasciatus (White, 1790) in the Mediterranean Sea. Aquatic Invasions, 4(2): 409-411.   FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: November 2013 ©ciesm 2002