Neoniphon sammara

Neoniphon sammara, the sammara squirrelfish, also known as the blood-spot squirrelfish, slender squirrelfish, spotfin squirrelfish, armed squirrel-fish or javelin squirrelfish, is a species squirrelfish found in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean from East Africa to the Hawaiian Islands. It feeds on shrimps and small crabs and fish at night and can grow up to 32.0 cm TL in length, though its common length is only 23.0 cm TL. Like N. opercularis, it has a venomous spine on its preopercle.

Habitat
Neoniphon sammara lives alone or in small groups on seagrass beds and hard substrates in reef flats and lagoons. It can be found at depths between 0 and 46 m. Of its genus, it is the most likely to be found in shallow waters and it is often associated with Acropora corals, which it will use as shelter during the day.

Commercial use
Neoniphon sammara is not a commonly-eaten fish, but is common in the Indian aquarium trade. It can also be used as bait for tuna fisheries.