Apogon maculatus

(Poey, 1860)

Vernacular names
English : Flamefish
French : Cardinal flamboyant

Classification
Class : Teleostei
Order : Kurtiformes
Family : Apogonidae
Notes : No subspecies known.

Identification
The species grows to 11 cm in length. Large black eye with two horizontal yellowish-white lines. Red with clear-edged black spot on gill coverts, round black spot under dorsal fin, blackish saddle-like marking on tail peduncle.

Range and habitat
The species occurs in the western Atlantic Ocean, from south Canada and USA to Bermudas, Bahamas, Gulf of Mexico, south to Brazil. Lives around sea walls, coral reefs, pilings in harbors, down to 130 meters deep.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : LEAST CONCERN
CITES : Not Listed
Status : The species has a big range but is locally declining because of overpredation by introduced Pterois volitans. Often collected for the aquarium trade.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

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