Freckled Cardinalfish, Phaeoptyx conklini
Freckled Cardinalfish, Phaeoptyx conklini. Fish caught from coastal waters off Boca Raton, Florida, September 2024. Length: 5.1 cm (2.0 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of James Lafontaine, Long Island, New York.
The Freckled Cardinalfish, Phaeoptyx conklini, is a member of the Cardinalfish or Apogonidae Family, that is also known as Conklin’s Cardinalfish and in Mexico as Cardenal Pecoso. Globally, there are three species in the genus Phaeoptyx, with all three found in Mexican waters, all in the Atlantic Ocean .
The Freckled Cardinalfish has an oblong compressed body with a large head that has a short blunt snout with large eyes, a moderately largemouth that opens at the front that is equipped with small teeth and a serrated preopercle. They are a translucent pink color covered with numerous dark spots with enlarged melanophores that from large stellate or squarish spots. They have a dark oblique bar that extends downward from the eyes. The head is covered with many black spots; they have a dark stripe along the base of the anal and dorsal fins. The caudal fin has a elongated blackish blotch as the base and dark margins. Their anal fin has 2 spines and 8 rays; their caudal fin is concave; their first dorsal fin has 6 spines; their second dorsal fin is well separated with 1 spine and 9 rays; and, their pectoral fins have 11 or 12 rays. They have 20 to 22 gill rakers. They are covered with rough scales. Their lateral line is complete and extends into the tail base.
The Freckled Cardinalfish is found within seagrasses and rubble and can be found within abandoned seashells at depths up to 23 m (75 feet). They are common within the Elkhorn Staghorn Coral, Acropora palmata. They reach a maximum of 9.0 cm (3.5 inches) in length. They are nocturnal predators emerging from caves or under sheltered ledges at night and form large feed aggregations while remaining secluded during the day. They consume small fish and small invertebrates including crab and shrimp. Reproduction is oviparous and they are one of the rare marine species exhibiting oral brooding; males incubate the fertilized eggs in buccal pouch in their mouth for several days before releasing hundreds of larvae measuring 2 to 4 mm into the ocean. Larvae remain in planktonic form for several weeks before developing into juveniles. The Freckled Cardinalfish is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.
In Mexican waters the Freckled Cardinalfish is a resident of all waters of the Atlantic Ocean including the Gulf of Mexico, with the exception that they are absent from Túxpam, Veracruz, north to the United States boarder, and the Caribbean.
The Freckled Cardinalfish can be confused with the Dusky Cardinalfish, Phaeoptyx pigmentaria (heavily spotted lower head) and the Sponge Cardinalfish, Phaeoptyx xenus (yellowish snout, multiple dots on each scale).
From a conservation perspective The Freckled Cardinalfish is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable widely distributed populations. The highly invasive Red Lionfish, Pterois volitans, which were recently introduced in the Caribbean, are known to consume this Cardinalfish.