Banda Cardinalfish

Appearance

Size to 9 cm. Brown with 3-4 narrow indistinct bars. Wedge-shaped dark mark below eye. Whitish tail base with dark bar.
Dorsal spines (total): 8; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 8. Characterized by having dorsal fin rays VII-I, 9; anal fin rays II,8; pectoral fin rays 13; pelvic fin rays I, 5; pored lateral line scales 24; predorsal scales 3-4; circumpeduncular scales 12 (Ref. 93839); color is coppery or silvery with saddle or bar across the caudal peduncle and a wedge-shaped bar below the eye. Similar to A. fuscus but usually has fewer gill rakers (25-27 versus 28-30). Leading edge of ventral fin clearly pale-blue (Ref. 48635); characterized further by grey caudal peduncle with broad dark bar at base; pale grey at night; greatest depth of body 2.2-2.6 in SL.

Naming

Also known as Bigeye cardinalfish.

Parent, Nectamia Jordan, 1917
Orig. name Apogon bandanensis Bleeker, 1854
Synonymised names:
Apogon bandanensis Bleeker, 1854 (synonym)
Apogon batjanensis Bleeker, 1854 (misspelling)
Ostorhinchus bandanensis (Bleeker, 1854)

Distribution

Indo-Pacific: Moluccas and Philippines to Samoa and Tonga, north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to southern Great Barrier Reef; Mariana and Caroline Islands in Micronesia.

Status

Not Evaluated.

Behavior

Nocturnal species. Solitary or in small groups.

Habitat

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 34 m, usually 1 - 12 m. Occur in outer reef slopes generally at depths less than 30 m deep. Shelter among branching corals of protected reefs to 12 m.

Reproduction

Mouthbrooders. Distinct pairing during courtship and spawning.