Cephalopholis sonnerati is a deep-dwelling species that is rarely seen by divers, but it can occasionally be caught by hand lines at night.
Details
§ 01
size
Common to 30 cm; max. 57 cm
color
Body orange-red to red, becoming duskier in larger individuals. Scattered faint bluish-white spots. Head purplish with numerous close-set orange-red spots. Fins red, membranes of the soft dorsal, caudal and anal fins dusky. Body, caudal and soft dorsal fins with purplish spots.
This species is demersal, meaning it lives and feeds on or near the bottom of the ocean. It is found on coral reefs and in atoll basins, usually at depths of 30-100 meters (occasionally in shallower waters). It is nocturnal, meaning it is active at night, and feeds on fish and crustaceans.
distinctive characters
The dorsal fin has nine spines and fourteen to sixteen rays, the anal fin has three spines and nine rays, the pectoral fin has eighteen to twenty rays, the body depth is two point three to two point eight in standard length, the lateral line scales are sixty-six to eighty, and the pectoral fin is sub-equal to or less than the pelvic fin. The dorsal head profile of adults is straight to concave, with the nape distinctly convex, and the caudal fin is rounded.