Fairy Basslet, Nemanthias dispar (Herre 1955)
Other Names: Orange Anthias, Peach Fairy Basslet, Redfin Anthias
A male Fairy Basslet, Nemanthias dispar, at Bima, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Indonesia, 23 August 2015. Source: Mark Rosenstein / iNaturalist.org. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
Summary:
Males are yellow to pinkish-orange with a pinkish-purple head and abdomen, a bright red dorsal fin, and a purplish margin on the fins, and greatly elongate pelvic fins. Females are pinkish-orange with a yellowish tail and short pelvic fins. Both males and females have an orange stripe running from the fleshy protuberance on the upper lip through the lower part of the eye to the pectoral-fin base.
This species was previously known as Pseudanthias dispar.
This species was previously known as Pseudanthias dispar.
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2025, Nemanthias dispar in Fishes of Australia, accessed 23 Jul 2026, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/4390
Fairy Basslet, Nemanthias dispar (Herre 1955)
More Info
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Distribution |
Scott Reef, north Western Australia, Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea, and the far northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, to at least Flora Reef in the Coral Sea; also Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean. Elsewhere the species is known from the east-Indo-west-central Pacific: from Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean to the Line Islands, north to the Yaeyama Islands and Ogasawara Islands, south to the Great Barrier Reef, Fiji and Samoa. Forms large feeding aggregations just above the reef, usually on the upper-edge of steep outer reef slopes and dropoffs with moderate currents. |
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Features |
Dorsal fin X, 16-18; Anal fin III, 7-8; Pectoral fin 18-20; Lateral-line scales 55-63; Gill rakers 9-12 + 22-26; Circumpeduncular scales 32-35. Greatest body depth 2.7-3.2 in SL. Males - upper lip with a fleshy protuberance, pelvic fins with an extremely elongate filament, second dorsal-fin spine slightly elongate, caudal fin deeply forked. Females with short pelvic fins. |
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Colour |
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Etymology |
The specific name is from the Latin dispar (= unequal, different), in reference to how this species differs from Mirolabrichthys tuka (its presumed congener at the time). |
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Species Citation |
Mirolabrichthys dispar Herre 1955, Copeia 1955(3): 224. Type locality: Gizo Island, Solomon Islands. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2025 |
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Resources |
Fairy Basslet, Nemanthias dispar (Herre 1955)
References
Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls. (as Pseudanthias dispar)
Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp. (as Pseudanthias dispar)
Allen, G.R. & Starck, W.A. 1982. The anthiid fishes of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, with the description of a new species. Revue Française d'Aquariologie et Herpétologie 9(2): 47-56 figs 1-28 (as Anthias dispar)
Allen, G.R. & Steene, R.C. 1988. Fishes of Christmas Island Indian Ocean. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 197 pp. (as Pseudanthias dispar)
Allen, G.R., Steene, R.C. & Orchard, M. 2007. Fishes of Christmas Island. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 2 edn, 284 pp. (as Pseudanthias dispar)
Ceccarelli, D., Choat, J.H., Ayling, A.M., Richards, Z., van Herwerden, L., Ayling, A., Ewels, G., Hobbs, J. –P. & Cuff, B. 2008. Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve Marine Survey – 2007. Report to the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts by C&R Consulting and James Cook University. 80 pp. (as Pseudanthias dispar)
Gill, A.C. 2022. Revised definitions of the anthiadine fish genera Mirolabrichthys Herre and Nemanthias Smith, with description of a new genus (Teleostei: Serranidae). Zootaxa 5092(1): 41-66. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5092.1.2
Herre, A.W. 1955. Remarks on the fish genus Mirolabrichthys, with description of a new species. Copeia 1955(3): 223-225
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. Checklist and new records of Christmas Island fishes: the influence of isolation, biogeography and habitat availability on species abundance and community composition. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 30: 184–202 (as Pseudanthias dispar)
Hutchins, J.B. 2001. Biodiversity of shallow reef fish assemblages in Western Australia using a rapid censusing technique. Records of the Western Australian Museum 20: 247-270 (as Pseudanthias dispar)
Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. A comprehensive reference for divers and fishermen. Sydney, NSW, Australia : New Holland Publishers xvii, 434 pp. (as Pseudanthias dispar)
Kuiter, R.H. 2004. Basslets, Hamlets and their relatives. A comprehensive guide to selected Serranidae and Plesiopidae. Chorleywood, UK : TMC Publishing 1, 216 pp. (as Pseudanthias dispar)
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. (as Pseudanthias dispar)
Randall, J.E. & Lubbock, R. 1981. A revision of the serranid fishes of the subgenus Mirolabrichthys (Anthiinae : Anthias) with descriptions of five new species. Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History Contributions in Science 333: 1-27 figs 1-18 (as Mirolabrichthys dispar)
Williams, J.T., Lawrence, A. & Myers, R. 2016. Pseudanthias dispar. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T69590742A69592522. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T69590742A69592522.en. Accessed on 16 September 2025.
