Vosmaer's monocle bream (Scolopsis vosmeri) is a saltwater species recorded in Singapore. It is mainly found over reef, sand, mud, at depths of ≤ 25 m. The main season in Singapore runs summer.
Scientific name: Scolopsis vosmeri · Water: Saltwater · Season: Summer
Size: up to 25 cm
Vosmaer's monocle bream is a nemipterid recognised by a striking white vertical band just behind the head and a dark reddish-brown flank, and it is a familiar fish of the sandy and muddy ground beside reefs. It feeds on the bottom on small shrimps, worms and tiny fish; the literature gives a maximum total length of 25 cm and a common standard length of about 15 cm, with a depth range down to roughly 25 m. In Singapore it is recorded over the soft ground fringing the southern islands, around Pulau Hantu and Sultan Shoal and off the offshore reefs, and a boat gives the better results. A light bottom rig with a small hook and prawn, fished slowly across the sand or left to wait, does the job — an easy introduction to reef-edge fishing.
Beyond the white bar behind the head, a second white band runs lengthwise beneath the lateral line, from the upper gill cover to below the soft dorsal rays, and the fish can flash it at will — thought to be an intraspecific signal. The dorsal fin carries 10 spines and 7 soft rays and the anal fin 3 spines and 7 soft rays, and there is no black spot above the base of the pectoral fin, which is the readiest way to separate it from its congeners. It is usually solitary, schooling only in deeper water. Its range runs from the Arabian Sea and Sri Lanka east to East Malaysia and Brunei. Trawls, hand lines and traps take it, along with bycatch, and the catch is sold fresh, smoked or salted, or worked into fish balls.
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