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Flickerscale Damsel

Ignisquama brevis

Coastal5 cm · Darting · flashing

Field record

It holds a drab olive over the reef face until something passes too close, and then for exactly one instant every scale along its flank flares orange-red before it vanishes into the coral. I have tried filming the flash at full frame rate and still only catch the tail end of it. The color means nothing to me and everything to the fish two burrows over, which scatters before I do.

Marginal note:a spark of orange that isn't there a second later

Habitat

Depth range0600 m
DiscoveryNo special condition — found simply by piloting close enough to identify it.

Catching it

A Coastal-tier catch needs at least a Fine Mesh Net— anything under that rating can never hold it, whatever the throw. Bought at the Quartermaster’s counter for 90 crystals. A held net inks this entry for good and pays its ledger bonus on the spot.

Ledger bonus on capture+3 Speed

Full capture mechanics — sighting vs. capture, the aim ring, why a net below a creature’s tier always bursts — in The Ledger.

Sharing this water

Other species catalogued in Sunlit Reef: