Bony fish · Beryciformes · Holocentridae

Blackbar Soldierfish

Myripristis jacobus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The blackbar soldierfish — known in Spanish as candil de piedra or soldado raya-negra — is the species Myripristis jacobus, a marine fish of the family Holocentridae, distributed throughout the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. It is not fished commercially, but has potential fishery interest. Another, less used Spanish vernacular name is candil barreado.

Size

15 cm – 25 cm

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

OceanCarnivore Nocturnal Colonial Fish Ocean

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Fun facts

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.