Sargocentron iota Randall, 1998
This small secretive squirrelfish is named for the smallest letter in the Greek alphabet. It attains a maximum of 3 in. and is only seen rarely, usually at night in stands of Finger Coral (Porites compressa). With its uniform red color and rounded tail fin lobes, it could be confused with a small Rough-Scale Soldierfish, which has similar secretive habits. The latter usually lives in crevices and caves, however, whereas this species appears to prefer spaces in and around living coral. Western and Central Pacific and Eastern Indian Ocean. Photo: Kailua Harbor, Hawai`i. 20 ft. (In early printings of Hawaii's Fishes, this photo appeared on p. 183, mistakenly identified as a Rough-Scale Soldierfish. Little did I know at the time that it was actually an unnamed species!)