Fish:
NOTE: We are not experts on the fish of Indonesia. If you find we have misidentified something, or you can identify something we could not, please contact us.
Sand perches are benthic fish which normally live over sand or rubble substrates in shallow seas. They tend to sit on the sea bed propped up by their widely-separated pelvic fins.
Yellowtail sandperch, Parapercis sp.
Reticulated sandperch, Parapercis tetracantha
Red-spotted sandperch, Parapercis schauinslandi
Nose-stripe sandperch, Parapercis lineopunctata
Puffers are related to porcupinefish but their spines are only visible when the fish has puffed up. They have four large teeth that are fused into an upper and lower plate, used for crushing crustaceans and mollucs for food. Most are toxic.
Black-saddled toby, Canthigaster valentini
Canthigaster sp.
Yellowspotted burrfish, Cyclichthys spilostylus
Lionfish, stonefish and scorpionfish: Lionfish are veneomous marine fish with conspicuous warning coloration, showy pectoral fins, and venomous spiky fin rays. Stonefish are some of the most venomous fish known. The potent neurotoxins are secreted from glands at the base of the needle-like dorsal fin spines, which stick up when the fish is threatened. Scorpionfish have sharp spines coated with venomous mucus.
Common lionfish, Pterois volitans
Reef stonefish, Synaneia verrucosa
Papuan scorpionfish, Scorpaenopsis papuensis
tassled scorpionfish, Scorpaenopsis oxycephala
Wasp-spine velvetfish, Acanthosphex leurynnis
Pipefishes look like straight-bodied seahorses with tiny mouths. The snout is a long tube, ending in a narrow and small mouth which opens upwards and is toothless. They have a highly modified skeleton formed into armored plating. The gill openings are very small. Ghost pipefishes are related to pipefishes and seahorses. They feed on tiny crustaceans which they suck into their long snouts. Ghost pipefish females brood their eggs in their enlarged pelvice fins.
Briarium pipefish, Apterygocampus epinnulatus
ornate ghost pipefish, Solenostomus paradoxus
roughsnout ghost pipefish, Solenostomus paegnius
Short-tailed pipefish, Trachyrhamphus bicoarctatus
Schultz's pipefish, Corythoichthys cf schultzi
Gobies are small to medium-sized ray-finned fish with large heads and tapered bodies.
pale dwarfgoby, Trimma anaima
orangetip sandgoby, Istigobius decoratus
Starry goby, Asteropteryx cf semipunctatus
Redbarred shrimpgoby, Amblyeleotris sp.
Twostripe goby, Valenciennea helsdingenii
Blennies are small fish with elongated bodies and relatively large eyes and mouths,
False cleanerfish, Aspidontus taeniatus
Four-fingered blenny, Andamia tetradctylus (with nudibranch)
Frogfish are small, short, stocky, camouflaged fish. Many species can change color, and some are covered with other organisms such as algae or hydrozoa. They move slowly, lying in wait for prey, and then strike extremely rapidly.
Warty frogfish, Antennarius maculatus (juvenile)
painted frogfish, Antennarius pictus
Ocellated frogfish, Antennarius sp.
Giant frogfish, Antennarius commersoni
Eels: Moray eels have a dorsal fin which extends from just behind the head along the back and joins seamlessly with the caudal and anal fins. Most species lack pectoral and pelvic fins, Their eyes are relatively small; they rely on their sense of smell instead. Ribbon eels are found in Indo-Pacific lagoons and reefs. They have long, thin bodies and high dorsal fins.
Yellowmargin moray, Gymnothorax flavimarginatus
Ribbon eel, Rhinomuraena quaesita (female)
Wrasses are a highly-diverse family of small fish. Theu are efficient carnivores, feeding on a wide range of small invertebrates.
Slender wrasse, Oxycheilinus orientalis
Bluestreak cleaner wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus (juvenile), on batfish
Butterflyfish are brightlhy colored and strikingly patterned fish with deep, laterally narrow bodies.
Klein's butterflyfish, Chaetodon kleinii
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Last modified 4 May 2020