Red-breasted wrasse

Red-breasted wrasse
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Labridae
Genus: Cheilinus
Species: C. fasciatus
Binomial name
Cheilinus fasciatus
(Bloch, 1791)
Synonyms
  • Sparus fasciatus Bloch, 1791
  • Cheilinus fasciatus fasciatus (Bloch, 1791)
  • Labrus enneacanthus Lacépède, 1801
  • Sparus bandatus Perry, 1810
  • Cheilinus quinquecinctus Rüppell, 1835

The red-breasted wrasse (Cheilinus fasciatus) is a species of wrasse native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.[2]

Description

This species can reach a maximum of 40 cm (16 in) in standard length.[2] Its head is greenish-blue, followed by a distinctive red-orange band followed by black and white stripes. Terminal phase fishes generally have a more pronounced red band and convex forehead than initial phase and juvenile fish.

Distribution

The red-breasted wrasse is native to the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific region from the Red Sea and the African coast to the islands of the western Pacific.[2]

Habitat and diet

The red-breasted wrasse lives in lagoons and seaward reefs in areas mixing rubble, coral, and sand at depths of from 4 to 60 m (13 to 197 ft) though rarer below 40 m (130 ft).[2]

It feeds mainly on crustaceans, sea urchins, hard-shelled invertebrates, and mollusks.[3]


References

  1. Shea, S. & Liu, M. 2010. Cheilinus fasciatus. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.1. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 11 September 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2013). "Cheilinus fasciatus" in FishBase. August 2013 version.
  3. http://eol.org/pages/223458/details#trophic_strategy
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