Yellowstriped Squirrelfish, Neoniphon aurolineatus (Liénard 1839)


Other Names: Goldlined Squirrelfish, Gold-lined Squirrelfish, Yellow-striped Squirrelfish

A Yellowstriped Squirrelfish, Neoniphon aurolineatus, from Holmes Reef in the Coral Sea off Queensland, March 2020. Source: Fenton Walsh / Cairns Marine. License: All rights reserved

Summary:
A silvery-pink Neoniphon with yellow stripes along the sides, an orange-red bar across the top of the head and gill cover, a large orange-red spot at the front of the dorsal fin, a yellow pectoral-fin base, and white tips on the dorsal fin spines.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2020, Neoniphon aurolineatus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 20 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/4443

Yellowstriped Squirrelfish, Neoniphon aurolineatus (Liénard 1839)

More Info


Distribution

Northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, and Holmes Reef in the Coral Sea. Elsewhere the species is widespread in the tropical Indo-west-central Pacific.
Inhabits caves and crevices on deep outer reef slopes, at depths to 160 m.

Features

Dorsal fin  XI,12-14; Anal fin IV,8-9; Pectoral fin 13-15; Lateral­ line scales 42-47; Scales above lateral line to base of mid­dle dorsal spines 3½; Oblique  rows of cheek scales 5; Gill-rakers 5-7  +  11-13; 
Body depth 3.9-3.3 in SL; head length 2.8-3.1 in SL; lower jaw strongly projecting; dor­sal profile of snout nearly straight with  a break in con­tour above eye to a less sloping, nearly straight profile of rest of head; anterior end of nasal bone rounded; nasal fossa  large,  without spinules on  margin; preopercular spine short, about 1/3 orbit  diameter.
Longest dorsal-fin spine 1.4-1.6 in HL;  last dorsal-fin spine shortest, much closer to first soft-ray than to penultimate spine; third anal-fin spine 1.4-1.6 in HL.

Colour

Silvery pink with yellow stripes following scale rows; head silvery pink with an orange-red spot above posterior part of orbit and a broad orange-red bar passing from top of head across opercle; a faint, broad, light orange-red band from orbit to cor­ner of preopercle. A large orange-red spot  covering most of first 2 interspinous membranes of dorsal fin; tips of spinous dorsal membranes white, as well as anterior part of each membrane posterior to third spine; rest of interspinous  membranes  a  mixture of red and yellow; remaining fins pale red (Heemstra & Randall, 1985).

Species Citation

Holocentrum aurolineatum Liénard 1839, Rapport Annuel sur les Travaux de la Société d'Histoire Naturelle de l'Ile Maurice 10: 32. Type locality: Mauritius.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2020

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Yellowstriped Squirrelfish, Neoniphon aurolineatus (Liénard 1839)

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. & Cross, N.J. 1983. A new species and two new records of squirrelfishes (Holocentridae) from the eastern Indian Ocean and Australia. Revue Française d'Aquariologie et Herpétologie 10(1): 5-8 figs 1-5 (as Flammeo scythrops)

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

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: 161-208 (described as Flammeo scythrops)

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

Liénard, R.P. 1839. Poissons. Rapport Annuel sur les Travaux de la Société d'Histoire Naturelle de l'Ile Maurice 10: 31-47

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. 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 pp. 2069-2790.

Randall, J.E. & Heemstra, P.C. 1985. A review of the squirrelfishes of the subfamily Holocentrinae from the western Indian Ocean and Red Sea. Ichthyological Bulletin of the J.L.B. Smith Institute, Grahamstown 49: 1-27 See ref online

Williams, I. & Greenfield, D. 2016. Neoniphon aurolineatus (errata version published in 2017). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T67871203A115438329. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T67871203A67871870.en. Downloaded on 11 March 2020.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37261017

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Depth:30-160 m

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:25 cm

Species Image Gallery

Species Maps

CAAB distribution map