Pseudanthias flavicauda aka the yellow tailed anthias is a juicy colorful species of anthias which is rarely ever seen in the aquarium trade. First described in Fiji, Pseudanthias flavicauda was recently collected in the Coral Sea by Cairns Marine and now the species has also been documented on the other side of the Pacific Ocean in Tahiti over 3,500 miles away.
The sightings of the yellow tailed anthias in Tahiti was made at a depth of about 200 feet where purple faced helfrich’s firefish and narwal shrimp were in great abundance. Like other Tahitian reef fish, the specimens of Pseudanthias flavicauda differ from its West Pacific counterparts by having a more intense yellow coloration, especially of the namesake tail.
Since we have only one picture to go from, it’s hard to say if this population of Pseudanthias flavicauda is truly the same as those from Fiji and Tonga. It’s possible that slight differences in coloration could differentiate the Tahiti Pseudanthias as is the case with P. unimarginatus and P. bimarginatus in the Indian Ocean.
The juicier part of this story is the great footage of the yellow tailed anthias in its natural habitat in Tahiti where large schools can be observed. Also visible on the video, however fleeting is a sneak peek at the elusive Liopropoma tonstrinum which true to its nature is hiding inside the reef structure.
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