Pearly soldierfish

Myripristis kuntee

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth5–24 m
Water temperature23–30 °C
Best monthsApril, September, and October
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Jay Brasher, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Myripristis kuntee, commonly known as the shoulderbar soldierfish or pearly soldierfish, is a species of fish in the family Holocentridae. It is found over a wide area the Indo-Pacific and is common in some places.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Myripristis kuntee”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 83 records
February: 128 records
March: 267 records
April: 449 records
May: 305 records
June: 303 records
July: 240 records
August: 252 records
September: 392 records
October: 311 records
November: 197 records
December: 106 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 5–24 m · Deepest record: 125 m

0–10 m: 497 records
10–20 m: 811 records
20–30 m: 504 records
30–40 m: 16 records
40–50 m: 1 records
50–60 m: 1 records
60–70 m: 2 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 1 records
110+ m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 23–30 °C

22–24 °C: 10 records
24–26 °C: 165 records
26–28 °C: 134 records
28–30 °C: 300 records

Photos

no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Chris Teague, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Nicola Crockford, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Pearly soldierfish, Epaulette Soldierfish, Epaulette Soldierfish, Shoulderbar soldierfish, Epaulette Squirrelfish, Kuntee Soldierfish, Kuntee Squirrelfish, pearly soldierfish, Shoulderbar Soldierfish

Names in 4 more languages

German: Geperlter Soldatenfisch
French: Marignan ardoisé, Myripristis nacré
Japanese: Kuroobimatsukasa, クロオビマツカサ
Simplified Chinese: 厚殼仔, 大目仔, 康得鋸鱗魚, 康德松毬, 康德鋸鱗魚, 康德锯鳞鱼, 瀾公妾, 金鱗甲, 金鱗魚, 鐵甲, 鐵甲兵, 鐵線婆

Other scientific names: Adioryx borbonicus, Myripristes multiradiatus, Myripristis borbonicus, Myripristis borbonius, Myripristis kantee, Myripristis multiradiatus, Myripristis phaeopus

Similar species

Bigscale soldierfish
Myripristis berndti
Brick Soldierfish
Myripristis amaena
Shadowfin soldierfish
Myripristis adusta
Blotcheye soldierfish
Myripristis murdjan
Scarlet soldierfish
Myripristis pralinia
Australian Squirrel-fish
Myripristis violacea

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).
3,250 open-data records from 1831 to 2023.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

Log what you see on your next dive

The free DiveHive diver app keeps your logbook with every sighting and shows what lives at the site you dive next.

Join the waitlist