Halichoeres burekae

Halichoeres burekae
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Labriformes
Family:	Labridae
Genus:	Halichoeres
Species:	H. burekae
Binomial name
Halichoeres burekae Weaver & L. A. Rocha, 2007

Halichoeres burekae, the Mardi Gras wrasse, is a species of wrasse native to the Gulf of Mexico. The species was first described from the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, ^[1] in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, but has since been recorded in other areas of the southern Gulf of Mexico. ^[2] Because it is a small species that feeds on plankton in the water column, it is likely a preferred prey for invasive Lionfish. ^[3] It also has a very restricted range, and corresponding relatively small population, what resulted in this species being listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List. ^{[4] [ failed verification ]}

Etymology

The fish is named in honor of Joyce Burek. ^[5]

References

1. Weaver, Douglas C.; Rocha, Luiz A. (2007). "A New Species of Halichoeres (Teleostei: Labridae) from the Western Gulf of Mexico". Copeia. 2007 (4): 798–807. ISSN   0045-8511.
2. Aguilar-Perera, Alfonso; Tuz-Sulub, Armin (2009-11-26). "Occurrence of the Mardi Gras wrasse, Halichoeres burekae (Teleostei: Labridae) in the Alacranes Reef, off northern Yucatan Peninsula" . Zootaxa. 2298 (1): 64–68. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2298.1.5. ISSN   1175-5334.
3. Rocha, Luiz A.; Rocha, Claudia R.; Baldwin, Carole C.; Weigt, Lee A.; McField, Melanie (2015-09-01). "Invasive lionfish preying on critically endangered reef fish". Coral Reefs. 34 (3): 803–806. doi: 10.1007/s00338-015-1293-z . ISSN   1432-0975.
4. Carpenter, Kent; Craig, Matthew; Rocha, Luiz; Collette, Bruce; Robertson, Ross; Espinosa-Perez, Hector; McEachran, John; Pezold, Frank; Brenner, Jorge (2014-01-06). "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Halichoeres burekae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
5. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (22 September 2018). "Order LABRIFORMES: Family LABRIDAE (a-h)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 10 March 2022.