About Myripristis hexagona (Lacepède, 1802)
Myripristis hexagona, commonly called the doubletooth soldierfish, is a nocturnal soldierfish species belonging to the genus Myripristis. Its body colour ranges from light red to yellowish, and it reaches a maximum total length of 30 centimetres (11.8 inches). This species is distributed across the Indo-Pacific, with its range extending from East Africa to Samoa, north to Japan’s Ryukyu Islands, and south to the Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia. It has not been recorded living on low islands or atolls within the Indo-Pacific. Doubletooth soldierfish live at depths between 3 and 40 metres (9.8 to 131.2 feet), and inhabit sheltered coastal and offshore reefs, most often in the turbid sections of bays or lagoons. During daytime hours, individuals hide in caves or under ledges; they emerge at night to feed on plankton. This species forms loose aggregations, which sometimes include other species of soldierfish.
