Cardinalfish

Description:

Locally called 'Matuličić' (if named at all), the Mediterranean Cardinalfish is a small bright-red nocturnal rocky reefs dweller, not more than 15cm in length.

Habitat:

Cardinalfish is nocturnal animal, spending its days in caves and/or well hidden anfractuosities in rocky reefs close to coast - here seen at some two meters of depth, close to one of the popular beaches in Dubrovnik riviera. And the funny thing is that I found them again in the very same spot where I saw them last year (see here https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/16...) AND three years ago, roughly in same numbers... That spotting looked very much like "Deja-vu" phenomenon. This is a very common fish of Adriatic and Mediterranean seas.

Notes:

Sorry for the low quality of pics, I'm well aware these pics do not do credit to these beauties but this was the best I could get from those 'action cameras' in this light conditions... However, you can see a beautiful pics, accompanied by a good text, of this species here: https://www.monaconatureencyclopedia.com... ; and few more in a French-language reference, provided aside.