squirrelfish
Holocentrus adscensionis (Osbeck, 1765)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Squirrelfish (Holocentrus adscensionis) in the Fernando de Noronha Marine National Park, Brazil.
João D'Andretta · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Holocentrus adscensionis is a squirrelfish of the family Holocentridae found in the Atlantic Ocean. Its range extends from North Carolina, USA to Brazil and throughout the Caribbean Sea in the Western Atlantic and from Gabon to Ascension Island in the Eastern Atlantic. A sighting was reported in 2016 from the central Mediterranean Sea off Malta and in 2023 from the Mediterranean Sea near Northern Cyprus.
It generally stays between 8 and 30 metres (26 and 98 ft) below the surface, but can be found at the surface or as deep as 180 metres (590 ft). It can reach up to 61 centimetres (24 in) TL in length, although it is more common for individuals to be around 25.0 centimetres (9.8 in) TL.
Wikipedia contributors, Holocentrus adscensionis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:41:58.059608+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Holocentrus adscensionis (Osbeck, 1765)
- Name authority
- (Osbeck, 1765)
- Common name
- squirrelfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Holocentriformes
- Family
- Holocentridae
- Genus
- Holocentrus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderHolocentriformes
- familyHolocentridae Bonaparte, 1833
- subfamilyHolocentrinae Bonaparte, 1833
- genusHolocentrus Scopoli, 1777
- speciesHolocentrus adscensionis (Osbeck, 1765)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Holocentrus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| longspine squirrelfishHolocentrus rufus (Walbaum, 1792) | HolocentridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Holocentrum macropus Günther, 1859 Günther, 1859 | synonym |
| Holocentrus longipinne Cuvier, 1829 Cuvier, 1829 | synonym |
| Perca adscensionis Osbeck, 1765 Osbeck, 1765 | synonym |
| Sargocentron furcatum (Günther, 1859) (Günther, 1859) | synonym |
| Holocentrum furcatum Günther, 1859 Günther, 1859 | synonym |
| Holocentrum longipinne Cuvier, 1829 Cuvier, 1829 | synonym |
| Holocentrum sanctipauli Günther, 1880 Günther, 1880 | synonym |
| Holocentrus ascensionis (Osbeck, 1765) (Osbeck, 1765) | synonym |
| Holocentrus sogo Bloch, 1790 Bloch, 1790 | synonym |
| Holacanthus ascensionis | synonym |
| Bodianus pentacanthus Bloch, 1790 Bloch, 1790 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=159378 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3M8HL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.