orbiculate cardinalfish
Sphaeramia orbicularis (Cuvier, 1828)
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
The orbiculate cardinalfish, chubby cardinal, or polka-dot cardinalfish (Sphaeramia orbicularis) is a species of Apogonidae (cardinalfishes). It grows to about 10 cm total length, and has a thin, dark vertical 'waistband' with scattered dark spots toward the tail. It is found in coastal areas throughout much of the Indo-Pacific, including off East Africa, Kiribati, the Ryukyu Islands, New Caledonia, Belau, and the eastern Caroline and Mariana Islands.
The male incubates the eggs until they hatch. It eats mostly planktonic crustaceans, mainly at night. It is not a common marine aquarium fish.
Wikipedia contributors, Sphaeramia orbicularis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:59:44.731807+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Sphaeramia orbicularis (Cuvier, 1828)
- Name authority
- (Cuvier, 1828)
- Common name
- orbiculate cardinalfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Apogoniformes
- Family
- Apogonidae
- Genus
- Sphaeramia
- 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
- orderApogoniformes
- familyApogonidae Günther, 1859
- subfamilyApogoninae Günther, 1859
- genusSphaeramia Fowler & Bean, 1930
- speciesSphaeramia orbicularis (Cuvier, 1828)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Sphaeramia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Sphaeramia nematoptera (Bleeker, 1856) | ApogonidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Siphamia orbicularis (Cuvier, 1828) (Cuvier, 1828) | synonym |
| Apogon orbicularis Cuvier, 1828 Cuvier, 1828 | 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=209408 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:4YLBL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.