Myripristis leiognathus
Big red eyes, deep red body, a fish of Galápagos and Panama's Pacific coast in 22 to 29 C water year-round.
Deep-bodied and compact at around 13 cm, with an overall reddish body that can look almost brick-orange under a torch beam. The stand-out feature is the oversized dark eye, typical of nocturnal reef fish, paired with a slightly upturned mouth and forked tail. Look for it hovering close to rock or reef structure rather than out in open water, often in small loose groups.
Divers typically find it tucked under ledges, in crevices, or hovering near caves and rocky overhangs during the day, staying close to cover rather than roaming the reef face. Like other soldierfish it is more active after dark, so night dives at the same sites often turn up more individuals than the daytime count suggests. It tends to hold its position or retreat slightly into shelter when divers approach rather than bolting across open water.
The oversized eyes are a giveaway that this is really a nocturnal feeder, spending daylight hours sheltering in rock crevices before moving out to feed on plankton and small invertebrates once the light drops.
No clear seasonal pattern shows up in the sightings, and its comfort range of roughly 22 to 29 C covers most of the year across its Pacific range, so treat it as a year-round possibility rather than a seasonal target.
Most reliably logged around the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador, with strong numbers also along Panama's Pacific coast and both the Pacific coast and Baja California regions of Mexico. Across all three countries it turns up as an uncommon to rare find on rocky reef sites rather than a guaranteed sighting.
Mapping where Panamic Soldierfish is logged…
Best-known from the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador, plus Panama's Pacific coast and Mexico's Pacific coast and Baja California. It shows up as an uncommon to rare sighting at rocky reef sites in these regions rather than something guaranteed on every dive.
There's no strong season in the sightings data, and its temperature range of about 22 to 29 C spans most of the year in its range, so it can turn up on any dive trip regardless of month.
Look for a deep-bodied, reddish fish around 13 cm long with a large dark eye and a forked tail, usually hovering near rock crevices or ledges rather than swimming in open water.
They typically reach around 13 cm, making them a small to mid-sized reef fish that's easy to overlook unless you're checking crevices and overhangs.
No, they pose no danger to divers. They're a shy, shelter-dwelling fish that simply retreats deeper into cover if approached.
Their oversized eyes reveal a nocturnal lifestyle: they shelter in reef crevices by day and become active feeders on plankton and small invertebrates after dark, which is why night dives often reveal more of them than day dives.
Site and sighting data is aggregated from diver logs, iNaturalist and GBIF. For taxonomy and conservation status:
Soldierfish
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