Obliquebanded cardinalfish
Apogon semiornatus
- Usual depth2–29 m
- Water temperature20–30 °C
- Best monthsApril
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) Ewout Knoester, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
About this species
Apogon semiornatus, the oblique-banded cardinalfish, is a translucent fish with one main stripe and little to no smaller stripes; stripe-free individuals have also been found. This fish lives in the Indo-West Pacific Ocean, in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Oman, east to Australia, north to Japan, south to Natal, and in the waters around South Africa. This fish naturally lives in rocky and rubble reefs and displays secretive behavior by preferring to remain under pieces of material or in the back of low caves. These fish can live alone but are sometimes found in small groups.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Apogon semiornatus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
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Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 18 records
- February: 15 records
- March: 16 records
- April: 85 records
- May: 49 records
- June: 22 records
- July: 25 records
- August: 23 records
- September: 32 records
- October: 26 records
- November: 29 records
- December: 10 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 2–29 m · Deepest record: 101.5 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 20–30 °C
Photos
(c) jeyre, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Obliquebanded cardinalfish, Half-band Cardinalfish, Halfband Cardinalfish, obliquebanded cardinalfish, Oblique-banded Cardinalfish, Threeband Cardinalfish
Names in 2 more languages
- Japanese
- Yamitenjikudai, ヤミテンジクダイ
- Simplified Chinese
- 半飾天竺鯛, 大目側仔, 大面側仔
Other scientific names: Amia diencaea, Amia semiornata, Apogon diencaeus, Apogon warreni
Similar species
- Little Red Cardinalfish
Apogon crassiceps
- Flame Cardinalfish
Apogon doryssa
Largetoothed cardinalfishCheilodipterus macrodon
Fivelined cardinalfishCheilodipterus quinquelineatus
Dog-toothed CardinalfishCheilodipterus isostigma
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 446 open-data records from 1876 to 2023.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
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