Blackblotch squirrelfish (Sargocentron melanospilos)

Scientific name: Sargocentron melanospilos Bleeker, 1858

The Blackblotch squirrelfish (Sargocentron melanospilos) is a marine fish of the family Holocentridae.

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12-14; Anal spines: 4; Anal soft rays: 9 - 10. Body with red and white stripes following the scale rows; black blotch at base of soft dorsal, anal, and caudal fins, but may be faint or absent in caudal and anal fins. Uniformly small ctenii on posterior margin of scales of body. Inferior mouth due to hypertrophy of median part of upper lip (front of upper lip thickened and slightly protruding). Five oblique scale rows on cheek; body depth 2.7-2.95 in SL; head length (HL) 2.6-2.9 in SL; snout length 3.6-4.4 in HL; interorbital width 4.4-5.25 in HL; slender caudal peduncle, depth 3.9-4.65 in HL; maxilla extending from below center of the eye to a vertical at rear edge of pupil, upper jaw length 2.25-2.4 in HL; premaxillary groove ending above or slightly posterior to a vertical at the front edge of orbit; anterior end of nasal bone ending with a small spine; surface or medial edge of nasa

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name: Sargocentron melanospilos
Family: Holocentridae (Squirrelfishes, soldierfishes)
Order: Beryciformes (Sawbellies)
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length: 25.0
Depth range: 5–90 m (16–295 ft)
Environment: Marine; reef-associated; depth range 5 - 90 m
Climate: Tropical
Distribution: Indo-Pacific: Red Sea, Zanzibar (Tanzania), Aldabra and Seychelles to the Marshall Islands and American Samoa, north to Taiwan, southern Japan and the Ogasawara Islands, south to the southern Great Barrier Reef and the Chesterfield Islands. Replaced by Sargocentron marisrubri in the Red Sea.
Conservation status (IUCN): Not Evaluated
Threat to humans: Venomous
Resilience: High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Last updated 27 September 2026