This unusual-looking creature is a razorfish (shrimpfish) belonging to the family Centriscidae (order Gasterosteiformes). It is found in the Indo-Pacific where it swims in a vertical position, its head pointing downwards.
To maintain this unique swimming style it is equipped with a thin, flat body with fused, transparent armour plates. The armour ends in a long spine (one of the dorsal fin spines), under which lie the tail and remaining dorsal fins.
Razorfish are named for their characteristic, sharp-edged bellies. They live in the Red Sea and off the east coast of Africa from Kenya south to Algoa Bay, where they feed primarily on planktonic crustaceans.
They congregate in tightly packed shoals in seagrass beds and along reefs in shallow coastal waters.
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