Can anyone identify this fish species?

[folkor]

A mate of mine came across this while on a diving trip in Egypt (North Red Sea) and we've been stumped trying to figure out what it is - hoping someone here might be able to shed some light.

[stardog]

Since you've already reached page 3 with no definitive answer, I thought I'd throw in my two cents. I'm not entirely confident, but this fish reminds me of something I came across back in the 90's – I think it was referred to as a "Nigea" Perchfish, although I'm probably way off the mark. The reason I'm doubting myself is that the one I'm thinking of was in a brackish water tank, which doesn't quite match your friend's diving location.

[folkor]

Since you've already reached page 3 with no definitive answer, I thought I'd throw in my two cents. I'm not entirely confident, but this fish reminds me of something I came across back in the 90's – I think it was referred to as a "Nigea" Perchfish, although I'm probably way off the mark. The reason I'm doubting myself is that the one I'm thinking of was in a brackish water tank, which doesn't quite match your friend's diving location.

Thanks for the bump. I really appreciate it. I'm fairly certain it's not a member of the perch family, but I can see why you might think that. The common name thing is a possibility, but I'm not convinced. I might try posting this in the main area, see if anyone else has any ideas.

[zenfox8]

Looks like it might be a Lizardfish, possibly from the Synodontidae family, but I'm not entirely sure.

[folkor]

Looks like we've got a match, that's a Variegated rivalfish

[krafton]

I think you're off the mark, but I appreciate the attempt. It's actually quite distinct from Gobies, if I recall correctly.

[stardog]

I think you're off the mark, but I appreciate the attempt. It's actually quite distinct from Gobies, if I recall correctly.

There are Goby fish, brackish, and then there's the other type of fish I'm thinking of, more marine-based, but I'm getting my wires crossed here... could we be mixing them up?

[zenfox8]

Since you've already reached page 3 with no definitive answer, I thought I'd throw in my two cents. I'm not entirely confident, but this fish reminds me of something I came across back in the 90's – I think it was referred to as a "Nigea" Perchfish, although I'm probably way off the mark. The reason I'm doubting myself is that the one I'm thinking of was in a brackish water tank, which doesn't quite match your friend's diving location.

There are Gobies, which inhabit brackish waters, and then there are the marine-based ones - are we getting our wires crossed here? Gobies are actually found in various waters, from freshwater to full marine, but the fish in question doesn't seem to be a Goby, given its mouth structure.

I've been going through Scott Michael's Reef Fishes Volume 1, and I think it's more likely to be the Variegated Lizardfish (Synodus variegatus). Its distribution includes the Red Sea, which matches the location of the photo. By the way, that's an excellent photo, great job on that.

[finnix25]

That's a stunning Variegated Lizardfish, looks really healthy too. I'm loving the photo, great shot. Would be awesome if you could share more diving pics sometime.