Sabre squirrelfish
Amazing fact
The sabre squirrelfish has a lower jaw that sticks out beyond its upper jaw even when its mouth is closed.
Australian Museum
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
The sabre squirrelfish has a lower jaw that sticks out beyond its upper jaw even when its mouth is closed.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Sabre squirrelfish
- Scientific name
- Sargocentron spiniferum
- Japanese name
- トガリエビス
- Group
- Ocean animals
- Order
- Beryciformes
- Family
- Holocentridae
- Genus
- Sargocentron
Where the name “Sabre squirrelfish” comes from
The word “sabre” in its English name refers to the long spine near its gill cover.
Australian MuseumIts Japanese name, meaning "pointed", comes from its snout, which grows long and pointed.
It lives from south of the Kii Peninsula, the Ryukyu and Ogasawara Islands across the Indian Ocean and the Pacific.
How the Sabre squirrelfish lives
At night, it eats crabs, shrimps and small fish. During the day, it is often seen sheltering in caves or beneath ledges. Young fish favor shallow, sheltered reefs.
Museums VictoriaBasic data
- Size
- Body length: about 45 cm
- Range
- South of the Kii Peninsula, Ryukyu Islands, Ogasawara Islands, and the Indo-Pacific
Where the Sabre squirrelfish has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- トガリエビス
- 简体中文
- 尖吻棘鳞鱼
- 繁體中文
- 尖吻棘鱗魚
- Español
- Candil sable
- Français
- Cardinal Lancette
- Deutsch
- Großdorn-Husarenfisch
- Português (Brasil)
- Peixe-esquilo-de-sabre
- Italiano
- Pesce scoiattolo spinoso
- Русский
- Тёмная рыба-солдат
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 鳥羽水族館 — トガリエビスChecked: 2026-11-04
- Australian Museum — Sabre Squirrelfish, Sargocentron spiniferum (Forsskål, 1775)Checked: 2026-11-07
- Museums Victoria — Sabre Squirrelfish, Sargocentron spiniferum (Forsskål 1775)Checked: 2026-11-07
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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