Environment / Climate / Range
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 5 - 30 m (Ref. 9823). Tropical; 30°N - 28°S
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 18.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 30573)
soft rays: 11 - 13. Body brown, shading to yellow on abdomen, thorax and lower head, and to reddish posteriorly; reddish lips; posterior of operculum with a large black spot, a green spot above and adjacent to this, and above this is a red spot. Pectoral base with a dark brown bar. Dorsal spines pungent.
Indo-Pacific: Red Sea to the Tuamoto Islands, north to Ryukyu Islands, south to Rapa.
Adults occur in clear lagoon and seaward reefs from the lower surge zone to a depth of 30 m (Ref. 1602). Usually in areas with mixed rubble, coral, or rock and sand (Ref. 9710). Usually solitary among large corals. Small juveniles swim with their head down, keeping dorsal and anal fins erected, and may seem like the face of a larger fish when viewed from side on by a predator (Ref. 48636). Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205). Occasionally seen in fish markets and aquarium trade.
Westneat, M.W., 2001. Labridae. Wrasses, hogfishes, razorfishes, corises, tuskfishes. p. 3381-3467. In K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Vol. 6. Bony fishes part 4 (Labridae to Latimeriidae), estuarine crocodiles. FAO, Rome. (Ref. 9823)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Threat to humans
Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: commercial
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5002 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 3.5 ±0.37 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 69278
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Low to moderate vulnerability (28 of 100) .