Bridled cardinalfish

Pristiapogon fraenatus

It is a cardinalfish of the genus Pristiapogon. Clear to pink translucent with a single black stripe that tapers from eye to mid tail base, often bordered with pale iridescent white or blue. Black spot at centre of tail base, level with end of stripe. P. exostigma has black spot slightly above centre of tail base and end of stripe. Leading edge of first dorsal fin blackish. The spot is usually absent in deep water or at night and often fades in the afternoon.
Bridled cardinalfish - Pristiapogon fraenatus Also caught on pyjamas (night coloration) during a night dive. The tail's blacks spot fades at night. Bridled cardinalfish,Fall,Geotagged,Indonesia,Pristiapogon fraenatus

Appearance

Dorsal spines (total): 8; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 8. A small to near pupil-sized basicaudal spot is centered at the level of the lateral stripe. Its lower edge at level with the lower ray of the central two rays in the caudal fin.
Spurcheek Cardinalfish - Pristiapogon fraenatus Observation on the 2 Cardinalfishes on the bottom of the picture. Anilao,Batangas,Cardinalfish,Fish,Philippines,Pristiapogon fraenatus,Spurcheek Cardinalfish

Distribution

Indo-Pacific: Red Sea to Durban, South Africa and to the Line and Tuamoto islands, north to Ryukyu Islands, south to New South Wales, Australia.

Behavior

Cryptic under ledges by day, singly or in small groups.

Habitat

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 3 - 50 m. Found in relatively clear waters on reef flats and lagoon and seaward reefs to a depth of at least 25 m.

Reproduction

Mouthbrooders. Distinct pairing during courtship and spawning.

Food

Feeds on small invertebrates.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

https://www.fishbase.se/summary/5757
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=209369
https://www.reeflifesurvey.com/species/pristiapogon-fraenatus/
https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3476
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionChordata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderKurtiformes
FamilyApogonidae
GenusPristiapogon
SpeciesPristiapogon fraenatus
Photographed in
Indonesia
Philippines