Sabre Squirrelfish - March 2023 – Norfolk Island

Late in March, while snorkelling in the lagoon at Kingston, I saw an interesting large red coloured fish, it was inside a coral reef cave in the Slaughter Bay lagoon, and from time to time it would swim passed the cave opening and check what was going on, outside its hiding place. It was interesting to watch it and when I got a chance, I took a few photographs of the fish before it tucked itself away into the hole in the coral reef.

The fish was large and had big eyes was a red in colour, and yellow on the fins. As this was a fish I had not seen before, I research the images in my books and on the internet and found the official name is Sabre Squirrelfish, Sargocentron spiniferum (Forsskål 1775).

It is also known as “Giant Squirrel fish” or “Spiny Squirrelfish”.

This species is widespread throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea and Indian Ocean up to Hawaii, Japan and southern Australia. (Wikipedia)

The “Sabre Squirrelfish” habitats during the day is in caves and crevices and under ledges, and during the night the fish hunts for food over the reef flats, lagoons, and seaward reefs. They feed nocturnally on crabs, smaller fish, and shrimps.

It is important to note that the spines are venomous, so if you ever catch a Squirrelfish, please take care of the sharp spines when handling the fish.

I checked out images on Susan Prior’s internet page which features the Norfolk Island underwater fish, coral and other amazing creatures that live in the sub-tropical waters in the lagoon at Kingston. Check out the web page to see the array of amazing colours of the fish and coral that can be spotted in coral reef in Slaughter Bay, Emily Bay, and the coastal shores of Norfolk Island.

Norfolk Island's Reef (norfolkislandreef.com.au)

See under Reef Fish and scroll down to “S” Sabre Squirrelfish, to view more images which Susan has shared.

Citizen science: your observations can be powerful — Norfolk Island's Reef (norfolkislandreef.com.au)

Susan also had a link to this citizen science page and her first sighting of the Sabe Squirrelfish was on 4 January 2023, just a few months earlier than the fish I photographed.

Sabre Squirrelfish, Sargocentron spiniferum (Forsskål, 1775) - The Australian Museum

While learning about the Squirrel fish I followed lings to the Australia Museum, on this page I found a great description of this fish which was visiting our Norfolk Island lagoon.

Introduction

The Sabre Squirrelfish is the largest of the squirrelfishes. Its common name refers to the very long preopercular spine. It is found throughout the Indo-Pacific.

Identification

The Sabre Squirrelfish is bright red with white scale margins. It has a deep red spinous dorsal fin, and a vertically elongated crimson blotch behind the eye. The dorsal profile of the head is nearly straight, the lower jaw protrudes beyond the upper jaw when the mouth is closed and there is a very long preopercular spine. It is the largest of the squirrelfishes. Its common name refers to the very long preopercular spine.

Distribution

It is found throughout the Indo-Pacific. In Australia it is recorded from north-western Western Australia, around the tropical north and south to the southern Great Barrier Reef.

The Sabre Squirrelfish - Whats That Fish!

FISHY STATS

Length: 45cm
Depth: 1-120m
Found: Indo-Pacific
Eats: crustaceans, fish
Family: Squirrelfishes-Soldierfishes
Scientific Family: Holocentridae

Snorkelling in the Lagoon at Kingston is always interesting, and I am always searching for new fish and marine creatures or those we don’t see very often. I always have my camera and I enjoy recording images of the beautiful underwater world and I am so pleased I can capture these images to share to educate about the variety of life living in the lagoon. Here are a couple of my photographs I took in Slaughter Bay, late in the afternoon, on 26 March 2023. I have also attached a photo of the Sabre squirrelfish from Reef Life Survey.

Sargocentron spiniferum - Sabre Squirrelfish | ReefLifeSurvey.com

The water is still warm in the lagoon, but when swimming please take care of our fragile underwater world. Please do not stand on the coral, so not to damage this fragile reef, please only look, and do not touch, take photos and memories. Here on Norfolk Island, we are so privileged to have a Sub-tropical reef on our doorstep, we need to care for the reef and marine life for future generations.

Betty Matthews

April 2023