Osteichthyes (bony fish)

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Distribution: tropical and warm temperate marine waters of the Indo-Pacific Habitat : Inhabit coastal and oceanic waters associated with reefs; Depth range 1 – 96 m (pelagic) Max. size : 120 cm Behavior and biology : Body color is blue-green dorsally and silvery below; the dorsal and anal fin with white-tipped lobes. The caudal fin is yellowish to black. Have a small blackish spot near the upper end of gill opening and along the straight portion of the lateral line have dark scutes (external horny or bony plate). Easily identified during a dive by its large dark eye, and the dark white-tipped dorsal fin lobe. Adults are mostly active at night or during twilight periods. During the day they are usually seen milling in stationary aggregations at the edges of reefs. Form slow-moving schools in the passes or outside the reef during the day, dispersing at night feed. Feed mainly on bony fishes and crustaceans (shrimps/crabs).

Distribution: Western Indian Ocean Habitat : demersal; marine Max. size : 11.0 cm Behavior and biology : It’s almost exclusively benthic and is easily recognized by the yellow star in the eye. Their egg-laying is oviparous, where the produced eggs hatch after leaving the body of the female. The eggs are demersal and adhesive.

Distribution: Indo-Pacific: Red Sea and east coast of Africa, eastward to the Marshall Islands, Samoa and Tonga; north to Ryukyu Islands; south to northern Australia Habitat : tropical; reef-associated, depth range 2 - 60 m Max. size : 10.0 cm Behavior and biology : Color in life silvery, sometimes with yellow to orange hue; yellow stripe from tip of snout to posterior end of orbit, edged in narrow iridescent blue reaching onto eye above and below pupil; large dark caudal spot, frequently diffuse in large adults; spot of juveniles smaller, about pupil size. Inhabits continental and insular shelves; on coral and rocky reefs in sheltered bays and lagoon, patch reefs, with muddy, sandy and silty bottoms. Typically forms dense aggregations at the entrance of caves and among branching corals. Nocturnal species.

Distribution: Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Persian Gulf, and the Gulf of Oman to Indonesia, the Gulf of Thailand, the Philippines, and Okinawa, Japan. Habitat : tropical; reef-associated, along coastal reef slopes; depth range 2 – 50 m Max. size : 55.0 cm Behavior and biology : The most common coastal jack, with a yellowish body color, and many orange or yellow spots scattered on side; sometimes seen in an all-yellow form. It’s a predator, hunting mainly macrofauna. Juveniles are solitary and seen in sheltered coastal basis.

Distribution: Western Indian Ocean: Red Sea to the Persian Gulf Habitat : tropical; reef-associated, found in seaward edges of reefs exposed to surge Max. size : 40.0cm Behavior and biology : Aggressive and territorial. Can be found in largeaggregations, but is usually found in solitude. Feed on various kinds of algae, mainly Sargassum.

Distribution: Western Indian Ocean: southern Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Gulf of Oman. Habitat : Reef-associated; tropical; marine; depth range 1 - 10 m Max. size : 7.0 cm Behavior and biology : It’s a non-migratory species that inhabits mainly inshore coral reefs. It appears to exist in two color forms: a drab brown with a white tail and a blue brown with a yellow tail.

Distribution: Indo-Pacific Habitat : reef-associated; marine; depth range 1-10 m Max. size : 14.0 cm Behavior and biology : Has a white body with bright blue spots under the eyes and mouth. It’s monogamous specie that lives in a burrow under rocks. It is usually seen in pairs or in aggregations. It is a carnivore species that feeds off the bottom, as it sifts through the sand eating mouthfuls of substrate and the food that lives within it.

Distribution: Widely distributed in Indo-Pacific Habitat : reef-associated; depth range 1 – 15 m Max. size : 20.0 cm Behavior and biology : is a carnivore species that feeds off the bottom, as it sifts through the sand eating mouthfuls of substrate and the food that lives within it. The body is white to light yellow, with 5 broad black bars on side. The stripes can also be blue, especially when spawning.
This species can be separated from the similar-looking Scissortail Sergeant by the lack of black stripes on the caudal fin;
Adults inhabit upper edge of outer reef slopes and inshore rocky reefs, and juveniles associate with drifting seaweed;
They feed on zooplankton, benthic algae, and small invertebrates;
Often seen in aggregations, in large numbers at spawning sites, being the males the ones that guard and aerate the eggs;