Help, Cardinalfish Experts

[bmorescuba]

I know it's a Cardinalfish, you can even see the mouth brooding...

But for the life of me, I can't find one in the 20 pages of ID books I have to match. There are telltale signs:

Dusky Cheek
Blue lines on face
2 lines through eye
Small white patch base 2nd dorsal fin

I can match some of these to some species, but no one species has them all.

Anilao, Philippines, ~10m deep

Thanks!

 

[CuzzA]

It appears to be a variant of the Ring Tailed Cardinal. Perhaps, Capricorn Cardinal, Ostorhinchus Capricornis It may just be missing it's spot. Otherwise they appear to match perfect. The white spot is probably a parasite.

OSTORHINCHUS CAPRICORNIS - (ALLEN & RANDALL, 1993)

 

[bmorescuba]

I considered that species, looks pretty close. The white spot is bilateral, and in exactly the same place on each side, so I think it's anatomical. It matches distinguishing features of several other species, like moluccensis & hoevenii. Of course, it doesn't look like either of those....