black squirrelfish
Neoniphon opercularis (Valenciennes, 1831)
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.
Un poisson-écureuil à dorsale noire (Neoniphon opercularis) aux Maldives (atoll de Baa).
Julien Bidet · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Neoniphon opercularis, the blackfin squirrelfish, also known as the mouth-fin squirrelfish or clearfin squirrelfish, is a species of squirrelfish found in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean from East Africa as far east as New Caledonia. It lives alone or in small groups in or near reefs and lagoons between 3 and 25 metres (9.8 and 82.0 ft) deep and can reach sizes of up to 35.0 centimetres (13.8 in) TL. It eats crabs and shrimps. Its dorsal fin is raised to scare off or startle predators. It also has a large venomous spine at the corner of its preopercle. It is relatively unaffected by commercial fishing, but is sometimes used as bait for tuna fisheries.
Wikipedia contributors, Neoniphon opercularis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:21:18.921797+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Neoniphon opercularis (Valenciennes, 1831)
- Name authority
- (Valenciennes, 1831)
- Common name
- black squirrelfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Holocentriformes
- Family
- Holocentridae
- Genus
- Neoniphon
- 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
- genusNeoniphon Castelnau, 1875
- speciesNeoniphon opercularis (Valenciennes, 1831)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Neoniphon. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Neoniphon aurolineatus (Liénard, 1839) | HolocentridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| longjaw squirrelfishNeoniphon marianus (Cuvier, 1829) | HolocentridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neoniphon pencei Copus, Pyle & Earle, 2015 | HolocentridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neoniphon coruscus (Poey, 1860) | HolocentridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neoniphon argenteus (Valenciennes, 1831) | HolocentridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| sammara squirrelfishNeoniphon sammara (Forsskål, 1775) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Holocentrus opercularis (Valenciennes, 1831) (Valenciennes, 1831) | synonym |
| Kutaflammeo opercularis (Valenciennes, 1831) (Valenciennes, 1831) | synonym |
| Flammeo opercularis (Valenciennes, 1831) (Valenciennes, 1831) | synonym |
| Holocentrum operculare Valenciennes, 1831 Valenciennes, 1831 | synonym |
| Neoniphon openrcularis (Valenciennes, 1831) (Valenciennes, 1831) | 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=217929 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:46NWL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.