Photograph by Scott Tuason

(CLASS: Actinopterygii, ORDER: Perciformes, FAMILY: Serranidae, SUBFAMILY: Anthiinae)

This colourful, reef-dwelling, basslet is found through-out the western and central Pacific. It is one of the fairy basslets although, due to its unique color variation, it has been given a variety of common names such as Squarespot Anthias, Square-spot Fairy Basslet, Squareback Anthias, Purple Blotch Basslet, Squareblock, Square, or Mirror Anthias. This image depicts a male individual - the males are predominantly pink with a lavender belly and have a distinctive, lighter rectangular shape on the side. In comparison, the body of the female is predominantly yellow with a lavender belly, and often a thin blue line extending from nose to pectoral fin.

Anthias species all share the trait of being hermaphroditic. If a dominant male perishes, the largest female of the group will often morph to take its place.

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