Apistidae

ocellated waspfish

Apistus carinatus

By day only its eyes remain above the sand

• Transcontinental
• Marine fish
• Pacific Ocean
• Africa
• East Asia
• Oceania
• South Asia
• Southeast Asia
• Fusiform
• Medium

Apistus is a monotypic genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Apistinae, the wasp scorpionfishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. Its only species is the Apistus carinatus, which has the common names ocellated waspfish, bearded waspfish, longfin waspfish or ringtailed cardinalfish. It has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution.