Species Profile: Pseudomugil luminatus

Common Name:   Red neon blue-eye

Species Photo by: Greg Gregory

Description:   Pseudomugil luminatus males have a body colour that is generally yellowish tan, yellow orange, or reddish with scales thinly outlined with brown, sometimes silvery white on belly and breast. They have a neon-blue stripe on the uppermost part of the body extending from the rear part of the head to the base of the uppermost caudal-fin rays. Median fins are generally yellowish-tan to pale-orange, variably marked with widely scattered small black spots; the anal and caudal fins generally have fewer spots, and those of the anal fin are mainly confined to the basal half or posteriormost section. The first dorsal fin has a narrow white anterior margin, white colour extending onto elongate fin filament. The caudal fin has prominent white tips on dorsal and ventral lobes; pelvic fins translucent yellowish with elongate orange filament anteriorly. The pectoral fins are mainly translucent with bright yellow or white mark along the upper edge of fin. The snout and upper part of the head is pale greyish to blue grey, usually with a red hue on the opercle due to the underlying red gill filaments and transparent nature of the thin outer covering of scales and bone. The eye pupil is black and iris bright blue. The females' body colour is generally similar to that of the male, although smaller individuals are more yellowish and semitransparent; fins mainly translucent to slightly yellowish, usually without spots.

Category:   Rainbowfish

Global Region:   Oceania

Distribution:   Australia and New Guinea

CARES Classification:   Near Threatened