LABROIDES PECTORALIS - (RANDALL & SPRINGER, 1975)
Picture courtesy of: Alain Daoulas
Nettoyeur à tache noire, Black-spot cleaner wrasse, Breastspot cleanerfish, False bluestreak wrasse, Yellow cleaner, Spotbreast cleanerfish, Breastspot cleaner wrasse, Sumitsuki-somewakebera, スミツキソメワケベラ, 胸斑裂唇魚,
Description
Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10-12 (usually: 11); Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 9-11 (rarely: 9); Pectoral fin rays: 13; Lateral line scales: 26. Scales on lateral line: 28 (+2 past hypural). Body depth: 3.3-3.92 in SL. Cheek, opercle and most of nape scaled; Lips and dentition as in genus; Caudal fin slightly rounded. Max. length: 11.0 cm TL. Depth range: 2 - 30 m.
Color
Adult with a black stripe from snout through eye to end of caudal fin, this stripe progressively broader as it passes posteriorly; A median dorsal black stripe from snout tip to dorsal fin; Head and anterior body between black stripes yellow, this color gradually changing to orange posterioly; Body below lateral stripe blue; A black spot nearly as large as eye at lower edge of pectoral fin base; Lips orange-red and blackish; Upper and lower edges of caudal fin lavender-pink, the corner hyaline.
Etymology
Labroides: from Latin, labrum = lip + from Latin suffix,-oides = similar to.
pectoralis: from Latin, pectoralis = chest, pectoral. Referring to large black spot below pectoral-fin base.
Original description: Labroides pectoralis Randall & Springer, 1975 - Type locality: Reef about 1 mile southeast of Auluptagel Island, Palau Islands, Philippine Sea, depth 6-10 feet.
Distribution
Eastern Indian Ocean, western Pacific: Christmas and Cocos-Keeling islands east to Micronesia and New Ireland (Papua New Guinea), north to Philippines and Ogasawara Islands, south to northern Australia and New Caledonia.
Biology
Inhabits coral-rich areas of seaward and clear lagoon reefs. Occur solitarily or in pairs. Creates 'cleaning ' stations to which fishes come to have crustacean ectoparasites and mucus removed. Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding. Aquarium fish.
Similar species
- Aspidontus dussumieri (Valenciennes, 1836) - Reported from New Caledonia - Link to the species (here).
- Aspidontus taeniatus (Quoy & Gaimard, 1834) - Reported from New Caledonia - Link to the species (here).
- Cheilodipterus parazonatus (Gon, 1993) - Reported from Western Pacific: Indonesia east to New Ireland (Papua New Guinea), south to Great Barrier Reef (Queensland, Australia) and Solomon Islands.
Coris musume (Jordan & Snyder, 1904) - Reported from Western Pacific: Taiwan north to Japan. - Coris picta (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) - Reported from New Caledonia - Link to the species (here).
- Hologymnosus annulatus (Lacepède, 1801) - Reported from New Caledonia - Link to the species (here).
- Labroides rubrolabiatus (Randall, 1958) - Report from New Caledonia need verification.
- Larabicus quadrilineatus (Rüppell, 1835) - Reported from Red Sea, northwestern Indian Ocean: Gulf of Aden, Socotra, Persian Gulf.
- Malacanthus latovittatus (Lacepède, 1801) - Reported from New Caledonia - Link to the species (here).
- Meiacanthus vittatus (Smith-Vaniz, 1976) - Reported from Western Pacific: Papua New Guinea, including New Britain.
- Plagiotremus rhinorhynchos (Bleeker, 1852) - Reported from New Caledonia - Link to the species (here).
- Plagiotremus tapeinosoma (Bleeker, 1857) - Reported from New Caledonia - Link to the species (here).
Last update: 10, December 2022