Cardinalfishes are a family, Apogonidae, of
ray-finned fishes found in the
Atlantic,
Indian, and
Pacific Oceans; they are chiefly marine, but some
species are found in
brackish water and a few (notably Glossamia) are found in fresh water. A handful of species are kept in the
aquarium and are popular as small, peaceful, and colourful fish. The family includes about 370 species.
They are generally small fish, with most species being less than 10 cm (4 in), and are often brightly coloured. They are distinguished by their large mouths, and the division of the
dorsal fin into two separate fins. Most species live in
tropical or
subtropical waters, where they inhabit
coral reefs and
lagoons.[1]
They are
nocturnal, spending the day in dark crevices within the reef. At least some species
brood their
eggs inside the mouths of the males.[1] Males do not feed during this incubation period. Males incubate the eggs in their mouth due to having longer heads and a larger jaw, which females do not acquire.[2]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Apogonidae.
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abJohnson, G.D.; Gill, A.C. (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 183.
ISBN0-12-547665-5.
^Hoey, A., Bellwood, D., & Barnett, A. (2012). To feed or to breed: Morphological constraints of mouthbrooding in coral reef cardinalfishes. Proceedings: Biological Sciences, 279(1737), 2426-2432.
^Fraser, T.H. & Prokofiev, A.M. (2016): A new genus and species of cardinalfish (Percomorpha, Apogonidae, Sphaeramiini) from the coastal waters of Vietnam: luminescent or not? Zootaxa, 4144 (2): 227–242.
Hoey, A., Bellwood, D., & Barnett, A. (2012). To feed or to breed: Morphological constraints of mouthbrooding in coral reef cardinalfishes. Proceedings: Biological Sciences, 279(1737), 2426-2432.