Yellowfin Soldierfish, Myripristis chryseres Jordan & Evermann 1905


A Yellowfin Soldierfish, Myripristis chryseres. Source: Bryan Harry / US National Parks Service. License: Public Domain

Summary:
A bright orange-red soldierfish with slightly darker scale margins, mostly bright yellow fins with white leading edges, and a dark margin on and just behind the gill cover.
Video of Yellowfin Soldierfish at a depth of about 25 m at Midway Island - by Bruce Carlson.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2022, Myripristis chryseres in Fishes of Australia, accessed 26 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/1405

Yellowfin Soldierfish, Myripristis chryseres Jordan & Evermann 1905

More Info


Distribution

Recorded in the Australian EEZ from Seringapatam Reef in the Timor Sea, and the northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, and reefs in the Coral Sea, and possibly a record from South West Rocks, New South Wales; also Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical, Indo-west-central Pacific.
Inhabits relatively deep outer reef slopes, sheltering in caves and crevices during the day. 

Features

Dorsal fin XI,13-16; Anal fin IV,11-13; Pectoral fin 15-16; Lateral line scales 32-38; Gill rakers (total first arch) 33-39.
Body depth 2.3-2.6 in SL; scales absent from axil of pectoral fin, third dorsal-fin spine longer than second.

Feeding

Nocturnal - emerges at night to feed on plankton in the water column.

Remarks

Heemstra et al. (2006) report that Yellowfin Soldierfish are often seen in caves with Coelacanths in depths of 182-239 m at Ngazidja Island in the Comoros Archipelago off the African coast.
In October 2022, a school was filmed by a deep towed camera on Muirhead Seamount in Australia's Cocos (Keeling) Islands territory.

Etymology

The species is named chryseres (=golden) in reference to the yellow dorsal, caudal and anal fins.

Species Citation

Myripristis chryseres Jordan & Evermann, 1905, Bull. U. S. Fish Comm. 23(1): 171. Type locality: Hilo, Hawaii Island, Hawaiian Islands. 

Author

Bray, D.J. 2022

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Yellowfin Soldierfish, Myripristis chryseres Jordan & Evermann 1905

References


Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls.

Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.

Allen, G.R. & Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 1994. Fishes of Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 412: 1-21.

Copus, J.M., Walsh, C.A.J., Hoban, M.L., Lee, A.M., et al. 2022. Phylogeography of Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems: Squirrelfish and Soldierfish (Holocentriformes: Holocentridae). Diversity 14: 691. https://doi.org/10.3390/ d14080691

Greenfield, D.W. 1968. The zoogeography of Myripristis (Pisces: Holocentridae). Systematic Biology 17(1): 76–87, https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/17.1.76

Greenfield, D.W. 1974.  A revision of the squirrelfish genus Myripristis Cuvier (Pisces: Holocentridae). Science Bulletin, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County No. 19: 1-54

Heemstra, P.C., Hissmann, K., Fricke, H. & Smale, M.J. 2006. Fishes of the deep demersal habitat at Ngazidja (Grand Comoro) Island, Western Indian Ocean. South African Journal of Science 102(9/10): 444-460.

Hobbs, J-P.A., Newman, S.J., Mitsopoulos, G.E.A., Travers, M.J., Skepper, C.L., Gilligan, J.J., Allen, G.R., Choat, H.J. & Ayling, A.M. 2014. Fishes of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands: new records, community composition and biogeographic significance. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 30: 203–219 See ref online

Jordan, D.S. & Evermann, B.W. 1903. Descriptions of new genera and species of fishes from the Hawaiian Islands. Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission 22(1902): 161-208. See ref at BHL

Jordan, D.S. & Evermann, B.W. 1905. The aquatic resources of the Hawaiian Islands. I. The shore fishes of the Hawaiian Islands, with a general account of the fish fauna. Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission 23(1): 1-574 figs 1-229 pls 1-65 col. pls 1-73 See ref at BHL

Myers, R.F. 1999. Micronesian Reef Fishes. A comprehensive guide to the coral reef fishes of Micronesia. Guam : Coral Graphics vi 330 pp. 192 pls. 

Randall, J.E. 2005. Reef and shore fishes of the South Pacific. New Caledonia to Tahiti and the Pitcairn Islands. Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press 707 pp. 

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs.

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs.

Randall, J.E. & Greenfield, D.W. 1996. Revision of the Indo-Pacific holocentrid fishes of the genus Myripristis, with descriptions of three new species. Indo-Pacific Fishes 25: 1-61 figs 1-12 pls 1-9

Randall, J.E. & Greenfield, D.W. 1999. Family Holocentridae. pp. 2225-2256 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 4 2069-2790 pp.

Williams, I. & Greenfield, D. 2016. Myripristis chryseres (errata version published in 2017). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T67869958A115434946. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T67869958A67871815.en. Downloaded on 01 November 2020.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37261009

Behaviour:Nocturnal

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Depth:12-350m (usually 30-240m)

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:25 cm TL

Species Image Gallery

Species Maps

CAAB distribution map