Dr. John Ernest (Jack) Randall (†), Hawaii
Info
The only? photo of a freshly collected specimen from Nectamia ignitops was taken by Dr. Jack Randall in 1977.
Further photos of living cardinalfish of this species do not seem to exist, therefore the first description in "Cardinal fishes of the genus Nectamia (Apogonidae, Perciformes) from the Indo-Pacific region with descriptions of four new species" was based on preserved material.
Nectamia ignitops forms aggregations that sometimes reside between Acropora stony corals, where they hide from predators.
Color:
The color of living animals is unknown from underwater photography.
There is the aforementioned photo by Randall, which shows the holotype with a conspicuous and thus name-giving reddish iris.
The perch is silvery on the head and body side and shows a faint subocular cheek spot.
The dorsal side of the perch is brownish, without dark saddles, a pale band can be seen on the front caudal peduncle.
Anal fin and caudal fins are pale.
Etymology.
The species name "ignitops" is a combination of the Latin word "ignitus" for "fire" and the Greek word "ops" for "eye", which refers to the color of the iris.
Further photos of living cardinalfish of this species do not seem to exist, therefore the first description in "Cardinal fishes of the genus Nectamia (Apogonidae, Perciformes) from the Indo-Pacific region with descriptions of four new species" was based on preserved material.
Nectamia ignitops forms aggregations that sometimes reside between Acropora stony corals, where they hide from predators.
Color:
The color of living animals is unknown from underwater photography.
There is the aforementioned photo by Randall, which shows the holotype with a conspicuous and thus name-giving reddish iris.
The perch is silvery on the head and body side and shows a faint subocular cheek spot.
The dorsal side of the perch is brownish, without dark saddles, a pale band can be seen on the front caudal peduncle.
Anal fin and caudal fins are pale.
Etymology.
The species name "ignitops" is a combination of the Latin word "ignitus" for "fire" and the Greek word "ops" for "eye", which refers to the color of the iris.
