Tropical reef fish

Sea Goldie

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Identity card

Sea Goldie

Scientific name:: Pseudanthias squamipinnis

Family:: Serranidae

Class:: Actinopterygii

Phylum:: Chordata

Year of description:: Peters, 1885

IUCN Status:: Least Concern

CITES-status:: Not Evaluated

Distribution:: It is found in the Indo-West Pacific Ocean

Habitat:: At a depth of between 0 and 55 m, in tropical waters. Coral reefs, lagoons, and outer reef slopes.

Size:: 15 cm on average for males, and 7 cm for females

Diet:: Zooplancton

The males are extremely territorial. Each male has a harem of about ten females.

The Sea Goldie is a gregarious species: it forms large schools.

did you know?

Where is the animal to be found?

The Sea Goldie lives in schools in temperate waters, close to corals, between the surface and a depth of 55 metres, and more commonly between 5 and 35 metres. Therefore, it is found near coral reefs, lagoons, or on the outer slopes of reefs.

It is found in the Indo-West Pacific Ocean (Red Sea, South Africa, Natal, northern Japan and southern Australia).

How can it be recognised?

The shape of its tail is reminiscent of the lyre (a musical instrument with strings).
Males and females can be differentiated by their size and colour. Females are yellow to orange with a horizontal purple line running from the eye to the pectoral fin.
Males are larger, pink to carmine red in colour with yellow sides.
They also have a coloured line near the eye, but it is dark red. The edges of their fins are blue.

What is distinctive about it?

This species is hermaphrodite. Over the course of their growth, some females may change sex and become male. If a male dies, the dominant female in the group will change sex and become a male.