Fish
Black Beauty Snapper
Macolor niger
A striking reef snapper whose bold black-and-white juveniles darken into a sooty, near-black adult.
Also known as swartnooi
- Habitat
- Coral reefs
The black beauty is a distinctive snapper, first described from the Red Sea. Juveniles are boldly patterned in black and white, a look that fades as the fish matures into a dark, sooty adult.
It is a reef-associated Indo-Pacific species reaching into South African waters, typically found near coral where it feeds in the water column above the reef.