Wrong ID

The fish identified as Small-toothed whiptail Pentapodus caninus in earlier blogs as well as the Hantu Gallery, is infact the Paradise whiptail Pentapodus paradiseus.



It was initially thought to be the Small-toothed from website research which have generalised the varieties of whiptails. There is a huge variety of whiptails and some even share the same common name.

Thankfully though, Gerry Allen's Marine Fishes of Southeast Asia has pointed out a distinguishing mark on the fish - an angled (not straight) yellow lateral line and a dark spot at the middle of the tail base.

It is similar to the Butterfly whiptail Pentapodus setosus that inhibits the Indo-Malay Archipelago, but whose distribution does not overlap.