About Cephalopholis formosa (Shaw, 1812)
Cephalopholis formosa (Shaw, 1812) has a body that is between two and a half to just under three times as long as it is deep. It has a rounded, finely serrated preopercle with a fleshy lower edge. There are 47 to 51 scales in the lateral line. The dorsal fin has 9 spines and 15 to 17 soft rays, while the anal fin has 3 spines and 7 to 8 soft rays. The caudal fin is rounded. The scales across the body, including on the abdomen, are ctenoid. The body is colored dark brown to yellowish brown with thin blue stripes. Small black and blue spots are present on the lips, snout, lower part of the head, and the chest. This species reaches a maximum total length of 34 centimetres (13 in). Cephalopholis formosa occurs in shallow coastal waters of the mainland and continental islands of the eastern Indian Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean. The only oceanic islands where it is found are the Lakshadweep Islands. Its range extends from the Lakshadweep Islands and Sri Lanka eastward to the Philippines, northward to Honshu, Japan, and southward to Australia, where it has only been recorded from the Northwest Shelf of Western Australia. Records of this species from the Mascarenes are probably misidentifications of Cephalolophis polleni, while records from the Great Barrier Reef probably refer to C. boenak. C. formosa has also been recorded in the Persian Gulf. Cephalopholis formosa inhabits shallow waters over silty or dead reefs, at depths between 10 and 30 metres (33 and 98 ft). It is a solitary, predatory species that feeds on other fishes and crustaceans.
