Redbait

Emmelichthys nitidus has a slender, slightly compressed body which is around a fifth as deep as its standard length and with a caudal peduncle which is very thin just in front of the caudal fin. It has a moderately small head with large eyes and a moderately-sized, oblique and highly protrusible mouth with just a small number of small conical teeth on the front of the lower jaw with the upper jaw usually being toothless and no teeth on the vomer, palatine or tongue, The head and body are covered in small ctenoid scales except for over the preorbital area and the tip of the snout. The dorsal fin contains 13 or 15 spines, with the first 9 or 10 spines contained in the fin membrane with 2 or 3 short isolated spines with the final spine being connected to the membrane of the soft rayed part of the fin which is supported by between 9 and 11 soft rays.

Emmelichthys nitidus is found in the south eastern Atlantic around Tristan da Cunha and along the southern African coast in Namibia south to the Western Cape. In the Indian Ocean it has been recorded from Madagascar and occurs around St. Paul and Amsterdam islands. It occurs along the southern coasts of Australia from southern Western Australia east to Sydney and off Tasmania. It is also found in New Zealand waters. It is a pelagic species found in open water at depths between 86 and 500 m (282 and 1,640 ft).