SERRANIDAE Cephalopholis boenak, 15.1 cm SL (photo by Seishi Kimura) Cephalopholis boenak (Bloch, 1790) Chocolate Hind D IX, 15-17; A III, 8; P1 16-17; P2 I, 5; LLp 46-51; GR 7-9 + 14-17. Body moderately elongate; body depth less than head length, 2.6-3.0 in SL. Head length 2.3-2.7 in SL. Teeth on palatines. Dorsal-fin membranes distinctly incised between spines. Caudal fin rounded. Pectoral fin middle rays longest, its length 1.3-1.6 in head length. Longest pelvic-fin soft ray length 1.7-2.2 in head length. No sclaes on maxilla; no auxiliary scales on body. Color: body dark brown, often dark reddish brown, usually with 7 or 8 dark bars on body. Black spot between upper and middle opercular spines. Size: maximum length 26 cm. Distribution: widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific, from east coast of Africa east to New Caledonia, including southern Japan and northern Australia. Remarks: usually found on silty dead reefs in protected waters in depths of 4 to 64 m. Feeds mainly on crustaceans.(Hiroyuki Motomura)