A striped red squirrelfish with a strong cheek spine, in crevices and under ledges.
To about 20 cm. Red with silvery-white stripes along the body, large eyes, and a strong spine on the cheek below the eye. It spends the day in crevices, caves and under ledges, usually hanging still and facing out, and comes out onto open ground at night to feed on small crustaceans.
The cheek spine is sharp and set where a hand reaching into a hole will meet it. It is not the reason to keep hands out of holes, but it is one more. Its large eye is the working part of the animal and it explains where it is found: in shade by day, in the open only after dark.
Ratings are per location: 1 means found on most dives that look for it, 5 means a handful of records. Where enough dives have been logged the figure is calculated from them; otherwise it is an editorial estimate, and says so. We publish habitat and destination, not the dive site.