Scarlet soldierfish
Myripristis pralinia
- Usual depth2–21 m
- Water temperature24–30 °C
- Best monthsApril, October, and November
- How commonOccasional
About this species
Myripristis pralinia, the scarlet soldierfish, is a nocturnal species of soldierfish from the genus Myripristis. It can be found in the Indo-Pacific region, from East Africa to the Marquesas Islands and the Gambier Islands, north to the Ryukyu Islands and south to New Caledonia. It can also be found on the Marshall Islands and the Mariana Islands. It can be found in small, loose groups in caves or under ledges in reef flats, lagoons and outer reef slopes. It feeds on plankton.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Myripristis pralinia”, 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: 27 records
- February: 15 records
- March: 25 records
- April: 102 records
- May: 65 records
- June: 25 records
- July: 34 records
- August: 39 records
- September: 43 records
- October: 67 records
- November: 81 records
- December: 13 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 2–21 m · Deepest record: 914 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 24–30 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Scarlet soldierfish, Big-eye Soldierfish, Big Eye Soldierfish, Port Praslin Squirrelfish, Reef Soldierfish, Scarlet Soldier, scarlet soldierfish, Scarlet Soldierfish, smoothcheeked soldierfish, Soldierfish
Names in 2 more languages
- French
- Myripristis praline, Poissons Soldat Rouge, Rouge aux Gros Yeux
- Japanese
- Kogane-matsukasa, Koganematsukasa, コガネマツカサ
Other scientific names: Holocentrus pralilius, Holocentrus pralinius, Myripristes kuim, Myripristis bleekeri, Myripristis kuim, Myripristis mooreanus, Myripristis pralina, Myripristis pralinius, Myripristis pralinus, Myripristis praslinius, Myripristis praslinus, Myripristis sanguineus, Ostichthys pralinius
Similar species
Bigscale soldierfishMyripristis berndti
Brick SoldierfishMyripristis amaena
Pearly soldierfishMyripristis kuntee
- Shadowfin soldierfish
Myripristis adusta
- Blotcheye soldierfish
Myripristis murdjan
- 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).
- 896 open-data records from 1902 to 2023.
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