About Parapercis schauinslandii (Steindachner, 1900)
Parapercis schauinslandii (Steindachner, 1900), commonly known as redspotted sandperch, lyretail grubfish or flagfin weever, is a species of marine ray-finned fish native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is a member of the sandperch family Pinguipedidae, from the percomorph order Trachiniformes. Parapercis schauinslandii is a strikingly coloured fish which has black or reddish to dark brown blotches on its dorsal sides, which alternate with reddish bars on the lower flanks. It has a spiny dorsal fin that is black near its base and is a deep reddish colour towards the tip. There is a second soft rayed dorsal fin with a row of dark spots. The base of the pectoral fin has two thin bright red bars, and there are two dark spots on the base of the caudal fin. The colour of this species varies geographically, with specimens from the Indian Ocean showing a lined pattern instead of a barred pattern. This species occurs in open areas with sandy and rubble substrates on deeper seaward and coastal slopes, and on deep sandy reef flats, at depths between 9 metres (30 ft) and 170 metres (560 ft). Adults frequently swim up from the seabed to catch prey. They mainly feed on zooplankton, and are often recorded feeding above the seabed with other fish species, or in small single-species shoals of 10 to 50 fish. They are distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific from the coast of East Africa to Pitcairn Island, as far north as Japan and as far south as the Great Barrier Reef.
