Splendid alfonsino Coloring Pages

A Fish with Golden Glowing Eyes

Splendid alfonsino is a fish with a bright red body and very large eyes.
When light hits its eyes, they shine like gold! That is how it got its Japanese name.
It grows to about 40 centimeters long. Its body is flat and tall when you look at it from the side.
It has "tai" (sea bream) in its Japanese name, but it is not part of the Red seabream family. It belongs to a totally different group!

A Fish Living in the Deep Sea

Splendid alfonsino lives in rocky areas of the deep sea, about 200 to 800 meters down.
Sunlight hardly reaches the deep sea, so it is super dark there.
Scientists think its eyes grew big so it could collect even the tiniest bit of light in that dark water.
There is something like a mirror in the back of its eyes that reflects light. When you shine a light on them, its eyes glow gold!

Why Is It Red in the Deep Sea?

Red light cannot reach into the deep sea.
In places with no red light, the color red looks dark and blends into the surroundings.
So down in the deep sea, a red body actually makes you hard to see!
Besides Splendid alfonsino, there are many other red fish and shrimp in the deep sea.
Having a red body is a smart way to hide from enemies in deep water!

Two Coloring Pages

The first page is drawn from a photo, showing one Splendid alfonsino from the side. You can clearly see its big eye and split tail fin.
The second page shows a scene of Splendid alfonsinos living in the rocky deep sea.
There is one staring at you with its big eyes, one opening its mouth to eat a shrimp, and one peeking out from between the rocks.
Take a look and see what each one is doing!

A Yummy Winter Treat

Splendid alfonsino gets extra fatty and delicious in the winter.
Simmered fish in a sweet and salty sauce is the most famous way to eat it.
Since its red color brings good luck, people often serve it at special parties.
When it is very fresh, you can also eat it as sashimi, sushi, or shabu-shabu.
We also have a coloring page for another deep-sea fish, the Monkfish, so try coloring that one too!

Color the body bright red

Color the Splendid alfonsino's body red or vermilion.
Make the back dark red and the belly pink or light orange to make it look like a real Splendid alfonsino.
Leave a few white spots along the scale pattern to make its body look shiny and bright!

Make gold the star of the eyes

For the big eyes, color the ring around the pupil gold or yellow.
Leave the small circle inside the pupil white to make the eye look glowing.
Here is a trick: make the red face around the eye a bit lighter so the eye stands out the most!

Color the fins red and orange

Try coloring the fins red like the body, or a slightly brighter orange.
If you color along the lines on the fins, they will look clear and see-through.
Making just the edges of the fins a little darker will give them a neat, clear shape!

The deep sea is dark blue and purple

Color the seawater in the second page with dark blue, indigo, or purple to make a dark, deep sea.
If you leave the bubbles white, they will look like small glowing dots in the deep ocean.
Color the rocks gray or brown, and the corals white or light pink to make it look just like the deep sea!

Change the red for each Splendid alfonsino in the school

On the second page, try changing the colors a little bit for each Splendid alfonsino, using red, vermilion, and pinkish red.
Make the big Splendid alfonsino in front bright, and use dark red for the ones far away or in the shadow of rocks to give your picture depth!

Going up at night

In the daytime, the Splendid alfonsino stays near the bottom of the deep sea. But when night comes, it moves up to a slightly shallower area.
It comes up to eat small fish, squid, and shrimp.

Fishing for Splendid alfonsino

The Splendid alfonsino lives in very deep places, so catching it is hard work!
People fish for it by sinking a tool called a vertical longline deep into the sea. It is a long line with many fishing hooks attached.
Izu in Shizuoka, Choshi in Chiba, and Muroto in Kochi are famous places for catching Splendid alfonsino.

Not red when they are born

When baby Splendid alfonsinos are born, they live in shallower parts of the sea for a little while.
At that time, their bodies are not red, but a silvery color.
As they grow up and move to the deep sea, their bodies turn bright red!

Fish with "Tai" in their name

In Japan, it is said that there are over 200 kinds of fish with "Tai" (sea bream) in their name.
However, only a tiny few of them are true relatives of the sea bream!
People think fish that were red, shaped like a sea bream, or delicious were given the name of the popular "Tai".
The Splendid alfonsino is one of these lucky "copycat" sea breams!