Hawaiian orbicular velvetfish (Caracanthus typicus)

Classification (WoRMS)

Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Chordata · Class: Teleostei · Order: Perciformes · Family: Scorpaenidae · Genus: Caracanthus.

Accepted name: Caracanthus typicus · Authority: Krøyer, 1845 · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 277038.

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=277038 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Biology and life history (FishBase)

Measured values published by FishBase for Caracanthus typicus. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.

Maximum length: 2.9000000953674316 cm · Habitat zone: reef-associated · Body shape: short and / or deep · Vulnerability index: 10 of 100 · Aquarium trade: never/rarely.

FishBase notes: Benthic and inquiline in the branches of Pocillopora meandrina (Ref. 58302).

Source: FishBase species summary (SpecCode 52705) — https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Caracanthus-typicus.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

135 georeferenced occurrence records for Caracanthus typicus are published through GBIF from 3 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 26 distinct locations from a sample of 135 records, omitting 5 inland records that carry an institution's coordinates rather than a collection site; it shows where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.

Most records by country or area: United States of America (125); United States Minor Outlying Islands (9); French Polynesia (1).

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2336951) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2336951&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=277038 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Conservation status (IUCN Red List)

The IUCN Red List assesses Caracanthus typicus Krøyer, 1845 as Near Threatened (code NT). No trend, population estimate or threat analysis is given here, because none is available from this source without the Red List API; follow the source link for the full assessment, including its date.

Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (taxon 69793068) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/69793068/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 2336951) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/2336951/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-25.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

Caracanthus typicus was first formally described in 1845 by the Danish zoologist Henrik Nikolai Krøyer with the type locality given as the Hawaiian Islands. Kroyer also described a new monotypic genus, Caracanthus, when he described this species, so it is the type species of that genus and of the subfamily Caracanthinae of the family Scorpaenidae. The specific name typicus denotes that this species is the type species of its genus.

Caracanthus typicus has a laterally compressed, disc-shaped, gray body covered with small red spots. This species has skin covered with papillae that produce a velvety texture. The closely related Caracanthus maculatus tends to have smaller and more numerous spots that are dark red to dark brown. The Hawaiian orbicular velvetfish can reach a length of 4 cm.

Caracanthus typicus is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands in the eastern central Pacific Ocean where it inhabits reefs as a benthic species which usually lives among the branches of the cauliflower coral (Pocillopora meandrina).

Caracanthus typicus will move deeper into the coral if disturbed and it has venomous spines in its fins.

Caracanthus typicus is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, being associated with coral reefs, and, in particular, the cauliflower coral. Based on the area of coral reef in the Hawaiian Islands, this species has a very limited distribution which is near to the threshold for the IUCN to classify it as Vulnerable. There have been localised declines in coral cover due to overfishing, climate change, pollution and invasive species in Hawaii and it is thought that there has been a continuing decline in habitat quality. Due to the ain threat of habitat degradation, it is estimated that this species occurs at between 2 and 6 locations and the IUCN list this species as Near Threatened.

Source: Wikipedia: Caracanthus typicus — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracanthus_typicus (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-25.