Fish
Bigeye Barenose Emperor
Monotaxis grandoculis
A stout silvery emperor with an enormous eye and a scaleless snout, its juveniles boldly barred, common on our northern reefs.
- Habitat
- Coral and rocky reef
The bigeye barenose is easily known by its very large eye and its bare, scaleless snout that gives the fish its name. Adults are a heavy, silvery-grey fish with a blunt profile, while juveniles are far more strikingly marked with dark bars and blotches.
It is a reef-associated bottom feeder, using strong jaws and pavement-like teeth to crush molluscs, urchins and crustaceans. Often met by divers around coral and rocky structure, it is taken by both anglers and spearos.