NEWS108
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ome65speciesdividedbetweeneight
genera belong to the soldierfishes
(Holocentridae).
They aredivided into two subfamilies, the
squirrelfishes (Holocentrinae)and the true
soldierfishes (Myripristinae).The two sub-
families aremost easily distinguished on
the basis of the form of the snout: blunt
and round in the soldierfishes, relatively
pointed in the squirrelfishes. Moreover
squirrelfishes alwayshavea long spineon
the lower edge of the operculum, while
this isabsent in the soldierfishes.
Whence thepopularnames?
When, around 250 years ago, the study of
the tropical fish fauna began, the someti-
S
Anyone seeing a soldierfishof the genus
Myripristis
for the first timewill
probably immediately think "mooncalf".The huge eyes and short snout
lookveryodd.But these fishesareanythingbutmis-shapen.Theyhave in-
habited the seas very successfully formillionsof years andareamong the
most ancientof fishes that exist today
Ancientnobility:
Soldierfishesandsquirrelfishes
byLevinLocke
Seawater
Myripristisadusta
fromSri Lanka.
All photos:FrankSchäfer
mes splendid, but always striking colora-
tionof soldierfishes remindedscientistsof
themilitary uniforms of the 18th century.
Because soldierfishes are predominantly
red in color and the coats of the infantry
back thenwere likewiseoften red (aprac-
tical color,asbloodspotsdon'tshowupon
it all thatmuch) they arrived at the name
soldierfishes.
InGermany the squirrelfishes are known
ashussarfishes,againbecause theirstriped
coloration reminded the early ichthyolo-
gists of thebraided jackets of thehussars
(lightly armed cavalry).The Englishname
squirrelfishes relates to the fact that there
are large numbers of striped squirrel spe-
cies inNorthAmerica.
orevenbehavebadly towards theirowner.
But some circumspection is nevertheless
requiredwhen dealingwith them, as all
Holocentridae have numerous sharp spi-
neson theirbodiesand fins,and thesquir-
relfishes also have a long spine on the
lower edge of the operculum. This spine
evensecretesapoison insomespecies (re-
corded in
Sargocentron
).
But nobody has ever died as a result, alt-
hough "stings" aredescribedas very,very
painful. However people with allergies
should be particularly careful when
dealingwith these fishes. Bathing the in-
juredpart of the body in very hot water
(ashotas isbearable)usuallybringsquick
relief, as the poisons inquestion are very
temperature-sensitive
protein
com-
pounds.
Myripristis jacobus
from theCaribbean.
Myripristiskuntee
fromSri Lanka.
Peaceful fellows
Despite their saber-rattlingpopular name,
all soldierfishes (andsquirrelfishes)arevery
peaceful fellows and that, alongwith their
attractivecolorsandunusual shapes,makes
themgenerally desirable as aquarium fis-
hes.
Soldierfishes will never attackother fishes
