Dr. John Ernest (Jack) Randall (†), Hawaii
Info
What do we really know about this soldier fish?
It is a commercially exploited edible fish species.
As with many fish that are touted as deep-water species, the data available varies greatly when considering water depth, size, and habitat information:
Depth data
IUCN Red List: 90–240 meters
FishBase: 20–270 meters
Fishes of Taiwan: 30–200 meters
Fishes of the Andaman Sea: 90–195 meters
> So somewhere between 20 and 270 meters?
It is understandable that water temperatures also vary depending on depth!
Captains of commercial fishing fleets use fish detection and tracking systems and then set their nets at exactly the right depth :-)
Size information
FishBase: 35 - 45 cm
Fishes of Taiwan: 15 cm (typo)?
Habitat information
IUCN Red List: This species occurs in deep waters, probably over hard substrates.
Fishes of Australia: Lives in deep reefs.
Fishes of Taiwan: Coastal coral reefs.
It should be noted that the data on Ostichthys japonicus requires thorough revision.
The color of living animals is reddish overall, the edges of the scales are red, the middle of the body is silvery pink, and the fins are reddish-white. The last dorsal fin is longer than the penultimate one and attached to the first dorsal fin. As is common in deep-sea fish, the eyes of Ostichthys japonicus are quite large in order to absorb as much sunlight as possible in the darker water zones.
Synonyms: Myripristis japonicus Cuvier, 1829 · unaccepted
Ostichthys japonicas (Cuvier, 1829) · unaccepted (misspelling)
Ostichtys japonicus (Cuvier, 1829) · unaccepted (misspelling)
It is a commercially exploited edible fish species.
As with many fish that are touted as deep-water species, the data available varies greatly when considering water depth, size, and habitat information:
Depth data
IUCN Red List: 90–240 meters
FishBase: 20–270 meters
Fishes of Taiwan: 30–200 meters
Fishes of the Andaman Sea: 90–195 meters
> So somewhere between 20 and 270 meters?
It is understandable that water temperatures also vary depending on depth!
Captains of commercial fishing fleets use fish detection and tracking systems and then set their nets at exactly the right depth :-)
Size information
FishBase: 35 - 45 cm
Fishes of Taiwan: 15 cm (typo)?
Habitat information
IUCN Red List: This species occurs in deep waters, probably over hard substrates.
Fishes of Australia: Lives in deep reefs.
Fishes of Taiwan: Coastal coral reefs.
It should be noted that the data on Ostichthys japonicus requires thorough revision.
The color of living animals is reddish overall, the edges of the scales are red, the middle of the body is silvery pink, and the fins are reddish-white. The last dorsal fin is longer than the penultimate one and attached to the first dorsal fin. As is common in deep-sea fish, the eyes of Ostichthys japonicus are quite large in order to absorb as much sunlight as possible in the darker water zones.
Synonyms: Myripristis japonicus Cuvier, 1829 · unaccepted
Ostichthys japonicas (Cuvier, 1829) · unaccepted (misspelling)
Ostichtys japonicus (Cuvier, 1829) · unaccepted (misspelling)
