Pink Squirrelfish

Body silvery pink with longitudinal red stripes; head red with silvery reflections on the cheek and opercle; spinous dorsal pink (or light red) with submarginal dark red band, the membranes tipped in white; other fins red to yellowish red, with the upper and lower edges of the caudal fin darker red; leading edges of anal and pelvic fins white with a submarginal darker red band, base of pectoral fins darker red (Ref. 4201 and 27370). Four oblique scale rows on cheek; body depth 2.6-2.9 in SL; head length (HL) 2.6-2.85 in SL; snout length 3.45-3.95 in HL; mouth often terminal; maxilla extending to between verticals just short of front of the pupil and just about center of the eye, upper jaw length 2.45-2.6 in HL; premaxillary groove reaching to a vertical at front edge of the orbit; anterior end of nasal bone with 2 short diverging spines; surface and medial margin of nasal bone spineless; moderately large nasal fossa often spineless on margin (an 11.8 cm SL specimen from Comoros, ROM 56585, has 2 spinules on the edge of the fossa, one on each side; a 9.4 cm, FMNH 17947, has a small spinule on one side on the edge of the fossa); upper edge of suborbital bones uniformly serrate; preopercular spine about 2/3 orbit diameter, 3.8-4.7 in HL; opercular spines 2, the lower from 2/3 as long to nearly as long as upper spine; short dorsal spines, 3rd to 5th dorsal spines subequal, 4th usually longest, 2.25-2.7 in HL; 3rd anal spine 1.25-1.6 in HL (Ref. 27370).

Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12 - 14; Analspines: 4; Analsoft rays: 9 - 10

Found in relatively deep waters of outer reef slopes and has been collected on reef flat and lagoon patch reefs (Ref. 27370). A nocturnal species (Ref. 75154). Feeds mainly on benthic crabs and shrimps at night (Ref. 27370).

Found in relatively deep waters of outer reef slopes and has been collected on reef flat and lagoon patch reefs. Feeds mainly on benthic crabs and shrimps at night. Spine of preopercle venomous.

Sargocentron tiereoides, the pink squirrelfish, is a species of squirrelfish belonging to the genus Sargocentron. It can be found in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, from East Africa to the Line and Society Islands, north to Ryukyu, Japan and Wake Island, south to Vanuatu, through Micronesia. It inhabits outer reef slopes of deeper waters and has been collected on reef flat and lagoon patch reefs. It feeds on benthic crabs and shrimp at night.