''Sargocentron'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

squirrelfish Holocentrinae is a subfamily of Holocentridae containing 40 recognized species and one proposed species. Its members are typically known as squirrelfish and all are nocturnal. All three genera in the subfamily are found in the Atlantic and ''Ho ...

(family Holocentridae) found in tropical parts of the Indian,

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

and

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

s, with the greatest

species diversity Species diversity is the number of different species that are represented in a given community (a dataset). The effective number of species refers to the number of equally abundant species needed to obtain the same mean proportional species abundan ...

near

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

s in the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

. Being largely or entirely

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

, they have relatively large eyes. Red and silvery colours dominate. The preopercle spines (near the

gill A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ that many aquatic ecosystem, aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow r ...

-opening) are

venomous Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

and can give painful wounds.Debelius, H. 1993. ''Indian Ocean Tropical Fish Guide.'' Most have a maximum length of , but ''S. iota'' barely reaches , and ''S. spiniferum'' can reach more than .

Species

There are currently 33 recognized species in this genus: * '' Sargocentron borodinoensis'' Kotlyar, 2017Kotlyar, A.N. (2017)
Holocentridae from Borodino Submarine Elevation (Philippine Sea).
''Journal of Ichthyology, 57 (1): 37–44.'' * '' Sargocentron bullisi'' ( Woods, 1955) (Deep-water squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron caudimaculatum'' ( Rüppell, 1838) (Silver-spot squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron cornutum'' ( Bleeker, 1854) (Three-spot squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron coruscum'' ( Poey, 1860) (Reef squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron diadema'' ( Lacépède, 1802) (Crown squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron dorsomaculatum'' ( Shimizu & Yamakawa, 1979) (Spot-fin squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron ensifer'' ( D. S. Jordan & Evermann, 1903) (Yellow-striped squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron hastatum'' ( G. Cuvier, 1829) (Red squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron hormion'' J. E. Randall, 1998 * '' Sargocentron inaequalis'' J. E. Randall & Heemstra, 1985 (Lattice squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron iota'' J. E. Randall, 1998 (Dwarf squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron ittodai'' ( D. S. Jordan & Fowler, 1902) (Samurai squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron lepros'' ( G. R. Allen & N. J. Cross, 1983) (Spiny squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron macrosquamis'' Golani, 1984 (Big-scale squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron marisrubri'' J. E. Randall, Golani &

Diamant The Diamant rocket (French for "diamond") was the first exclusively French expendable launch system and at the same time the first satellite launcher not built by either the United States or USSR. As such, it has been referred to as being a key ...

, 1989 * '' Sargocentron megalops'' J. E. Randall, 1998 * '' Sargocentron melanospilos'' ( Bleeker, 1858) (Black-blotch squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron microstoma'' ( Günther, 1859) (Small-mouth squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron poco'' ( Woods, 1965) (Saddle squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron praslin'' ( Lacépède, 1802) (Dark-striped squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron punctatissimum'' ( G. Cuvier, 1829) (Speckled squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron rubrum'' ( Forsskål, 1775) (Red-coat squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron seychellense'' (

J. L. B. Smith James Leonard Brierley Smith (26 September 1897 – 8 January 1968) was a South African ichthyology, ichthyologist, organic chemist, and university professor. He was the first to identify a taxidermied fish as a coelacanth, at the time thought t ...

& M. M. Smith, 1963) (Yellow-tipped squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron shimizui'' J. E. Randall, 1998 (Shimizu's squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron spiniferum'' ( Forsskål, 1775) (Sabre squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron spinosissimum'' ( Temminck & Schlegel, 1843) (North Pacific squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron suborbitale'' ( T. N. Gill, 1863) (Tinsel squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron tiere'' ( G. Cuvier, 1829) (Blue-lined squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron tiereoides'' ( Bleeker, 1853) (Pink squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron vexillarium'' ( Poey, 1860) (Dusky squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron violaceum'' ( Bleeker, 1853) (Violet squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron wilhelmi'' ( F. de Buen, 1963) (Wilhelm's squirrelfish) * '' Sargocentron xantherythrum'' ( D. S. Jordan & Evermann, 1903) (Hawaiian squirrelfish)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q135715 Marine fish genera Taxa named by Henry Weed Fowler