''Neoniphon sammara'', the sammara squirrelfish, also known as the blood-spot squirrelfish, slender squirrelfish, spotfin squirrelfish, armed squirrel-fish or javelin squirrelfish, is a species

squirrelfish Holocentrinae is a subfamily of Holocentridae containing 40 recognized species and one proposed species. Its members are typically known as squirrelfish and all are nocturnal. All three genera in the subfamily are found in the Atlantic and ''Ho ...

found in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

and

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

from East Africa to the Hawaiian Islands. It feeds on shrimps and small crabs and

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

at night and can grow up to TL in length, though its common length is only TL. Like '' N. opercularis'', it has a venomous spine on its

preopercle The operculum is a series of bones found in bony fish and chimaeras that serves as a facial support structure and a protective covering for the gills; it is also used for respiration and feeding. Anatomy The opercular series contains four bon ...

Habitat

''N. sammara'' lives alone or in small groups on seagrass beds and hard substrates in reef flats and lagoons. It can be found at depths between . Of its genus, it is the most likely to be found in shallow waters and it is often associated with Acropora corals, which it will use as shelter during the day.

Commercial use

''N. sammara'' is not a commonly-eaten fish, but is common in the Indian aquarium trade. It can also be used as bait for tuna fisheries.

References

External links

Fishes of Australia : ''Neoniphon sammara''
* sammara squirrelfish Marine fish of Northern Australia sammara squirrelfish Taxa named by Peter Forsskål {{Beryciformes-stub