Priacanthus fitchi Starnes, 1988
Deepsea bigeye
Priacanthus fitchi
photo by CSIRO

Family:  Priacanthidae (Bigeyes or catalufas)
Max. size:  18.5 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  demersal; marine; depth range 150 - 400 m
Distribution:  Western Pacific: southern Japan to northwestern Australia.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 10-10; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13; Anal spines: 3-3; Anal soft rays: 13-14. Medium-sized fish. The body is oval; dorsal fin continuous; eyes very large; mouth large and oblique, with the lower jaw projecting upwards. The head and body silvery red or pink; iris of eyes red. The fins are creamy pink; the last 4-5 soft rays of the dorsal and anal fins are clearly white. This species resembles P. macracanthus with a long and narrow preopercular spine, but has less body depth, a narrower caudal peduncle, and fainter yellowish spots on its dorsal, anal and pelvic fins.
Biology:  A deeper water species trawled from relatively open bottoms at depths of 150 to over 400 m.
IUCN Red List Status: Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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