Fishbase only lists the Freckled cardinalfish (Phaeoptyx conklini) from Honduras but other information suggests both the Freckled and Dusky (P. pigmentata) should occur there. I found two cardinalfish with dark speckles, the first with few large speckles (well above the substrate) the second with many smaller speckles (near the substrate). Fishbase mentions the dusky to have a single large speckle per scale below the lateral line while the freckled has more than one. However, the images on fishbase and the Reef Fish ID book are not really clear. I wish I could go back to take more and better pictures but I hope the images below are good enough for someone who has seen these cardinalfish before.
Dusky cardinalfish?
Freckled cardinalfish?
