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Japanese soldierfish

Sargocentron ittodai

  • Fish
  • IUCN: Least concern
  • Usual depth3–21 m
  • Water temperature20–30 °C
  • Best monthsJuly, September, and October
  • How commonOccasional
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About this species

Sargocentron ittodai, the samurai squirrelfish, is a nocturnal species of squirrelfish belonging to the genus of Sargocentron. It is found in the Indo-Pacific region, in the Red Sea and Natal, from South Africa to the Marquesan Islands, and north from Southern Japan and the Ogasawara Islands, south to New South Wales, Australia. It inhabits outer reef slopes. It can be found either solitary or in groups. It mainly feeds on benthic crabs and shrimps.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Sargocentron ittodai”, 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: 0 records
  • February: 3 records
  • March: 3 records
  • April: 15 records
  • May: 12 records
  • June: 14 records
  • July: 20 records
  • August: 16 records
  • September: 23 records
  • October: 21 records
  • November: 12 records
  • December: 2 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 3–21 m · Deepest record: 59 m

  • 0–10 m: 83 records
  • 10–20 m: 14 records
  • 20–30 m: 7 records
  • 30–40 m: 5 records
  • 40–50 m: 0 records
  • 50–60 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 20–30 °C

  • 20–22 °C: 4 records
  • 22–24 °C: 6 records
  • 24–26 °C: 23 records
  • 26–28 °C: 89 records
  • 28–30 °C: 22 records

Names and classification

English
Japanese soldierfish, Samurai squirrelfish
Names in 4 more languages
Spanish
Pez ardilla samurái
French
Écureuil samouraï
Japanese
Teriebisu, テリエビス
Simplified Chinese
瀾公妾, 金鱗甲, 銀帶棘鱗魚, 鐵甲兵, 鐵線婆

Other scientific names: Adioryx ittodai, Holocentrus ittodai, Sargocentron ittadai

Similar species

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).
  • 608 open-data records from 1900 to 2023.

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