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Illustration of Speckled squirrelfish
fishing forecast

speckled squirrelfish

Sargocentron punctatissimum · full profile

location

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period

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the species

everything about the speckled squirrelfish

how to recognize it

Silvery-reddish body, bluish and shiny on the back, with scales finely dotted with black. The spiny dorsal fin is white-silver, with a broad red margin. The mouth is small and almost terminal, and the preopercle spine is short. Compare it with Myripristis berndti, which has a protruding lower jaw and a red lower half of the fins.

Also called: mariquita-pintalgada, speckled squirrelfish

don't confuse with:

We don't have tips on season, bait or technique for this species yet.

Where to look: Crevices, tunnels and ledges of shallow reefs, spreading over sand at night.

Occurs in the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to Hawaii, and in the eastern Pacific as far as Easter Island, Chile.

when to fish

best time of day

0h6h12h18h sunrise ~6amsunset ~6pm

Nighttime. By day it stays in reef tunnels and crevices; at night it spreads over sand and open bottom to feed.

rules for the speckled squirrelfish

Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.

We found no species-specific rule beyond the region's general rules.

how much it weighs without taking it out of the water

estimated weight

—

how we calculate

Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.0138, b = 2.98; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa da própria espécie)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.

more about the speckled squirrelfish

The spotted squirrelfish belongs to the family Holocentridae, the squirrelfishes and soldierfishes. It reaches 23 cm and lives on shallow reefs, in crevices and ledges, from the Red Sea to Hawaii and Easter Island, Chile. It usually stays between 1 and 30 m deep. By day it stays in crevices and, at night, spreads over sand bottoms to feed on small crustaceans, crustacean larvae and polychaete worms. It has commercial use and is also sold for aquariums.

Family: Holocentridae · forage fish

similar species

sources and references (2)

Essential profile: size, length-weight, depth, countries and conservation come from FishBase and the cited regulations, and the texts were written from those sources. Season, time of day, sensitivities, technique and baits and lures are not included yet, because we did not find a good source for this species.

  1. scientific FishBase: Sargocentron punctatissimum (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology, and IUCN status. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
  2. scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Sargocentron punctatissimumNames by country and language.