sammara squirrelfish
Neoniphon sammara (Forsskål, 1775)
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
Neoniphon sammara, the sammara squirrelfish, also known as the blood-spot squirrelfish, slender squirrelfish, spotfin squirrelfish, armed squirrel-fish or javelin squirrelfish, is a species squirrelfish found in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean from East Africa to the Hawaiian Islands. It feeds on shrimps and small crabs and fish at night and can grow up to 32.0 centimetres (12.6 in) TL in length, though its common length is only 23.0 centimetres (9.1 in) TL. Like N. opercularis, it has a venomous spine on its preopercle.
Wikipedia contributors, Neoniphon sammara; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:47:15.335251+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Neoniphon sammara (Forsskål, 1775)
- Name authority
- (Forsskål, 1775)
- Common name
- sammara 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 sammara (Forsskål, 1775)
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 |
| black squirrelfishNeoniphon opercularis (Valenciennes, 1831) | 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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Holocentrum sammara (Forsskål, 1775) (Forsskål, 1775) | synonym |
| Holocentrus rubrofuscus Lacepède, 1802 Lacepède, 1802 | synonym |
| Kutaflammeo sammara (Forsskål, 1775) (Forsskål, 1775) | synonym |
| Sciaena sammara Forsskål, 1775 Forsskål, 1775 | synonym |
| Flammeo sammara (Forsskål, 1775) (Forsskål, 1775) | synonym |
| Holocentrum sammana (Forsskål, 1775) (Forsskål, 1775) | synonym |
| Holocentrus sammara (Forsskål, 1775) (Forsskål, 1775) | synonym |
| Labrus angulosus Lacepède, 1801 Lacepède, 1801 | synonym |
| Neoniphon hasta De Vis, 1884 De Vis, 1884 | 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=159393 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:46NWM. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.