Lyretail Anthias

Pseudanthias squamipinnis

One colorful male guards a harem of many orange females; in the Red Sea a group can have around eight females per male.

The real colors of this species — match them or invent your own.

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Size

15 cm

Depth

Unknown

Range

Red Sea to Indo-Pacific

Habitat

Coral reefs

IUCN

Least Concern

How to spot

A slender reef fish with a deeply forked, lyre-shaped tail. Look for the violet-and-red male with his long dorsal spine among a crowd of orange females.

True colors

Females and young are orange to golden-yellow. Males turn purple-red with a bright red patch on the pectoral fin and an elongated third dorsal-fin spine.

This species is one of nine in Mini Pack 01 · Clownfish & Friends — each pack adds a full-page art print of every species plus a color reference sheet. Browse the packs →

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