Blackbar Soldierfish

• Its outsized eyes are an adaptation to nocturnal activity and let it hunt plankton by moonlight.
• It produces sounds by beating specialised muscles against its swim bladder, with which it communicates inside the caves of the reef.
• Its enormous eyes are an adaptation to nocturnal life: it hunts zooplankton in the water column during the night and spends the day hidden in caves.
• The intense red colour works as camouflage in the gloom, because red light does not penetrate to depth, and at that depth it simply looks black.
• It produces sounds with its swim bladder and associated muscles, which it uses in defending its refuge and in communicating with other members of the colony.
• It is called a soldierfish because of its large, rough scales, reminiscent of chain mail.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (fish)

Habitat and environment

Caves, crevices and ledges of western Atlantic reefs

Sources consulted: Wikipedia (es): Myripristis jacobus