Lyretail Anthias Identification Guide

Key identification features

• Deeply forked, lyre-shaped tail fin with elongated upper and lower lobes, most pronounced in males
• Females are bright orange to pink with a lavender-purple wash, males are larger and richer magenta to reddish-purple
• Males develop an elongated, filamentous third dorsal spine
• Slender, elongate body shape typical of anthias, adapted for hovering in open water
• Often seen in large aggregations with one dominant male and many smaller females

Common look-alikes

• Threadfin anthias: also orange-pink, but shows a distinct dark stripe running through the eye that lyretail anthias lack.
• Squareback anthias: similarly colored but has a squared-off or only shallowly notched tail rather than the deeply forked, lyre-shaped tail of lyretail anthias.
• Bartlett's anthias: has a more yellow-orange body with a dark-edged tail, lacking the pink-lavender wash typical of lyretail anthias females.

Where you'll see one

Lyretail anthias swarm in large groups over coral reef drop-offs and current-swept slopes throughout the Indo-Pacific and Red Sea, feeding on plankton just above the reef.