Oxycheilinus mentalis

Last updated

Oxycheilinus mentalis
Oxycheilinus mentalis.png
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Labriformes
Family: Labridae
Genus: Oxycheilinus
Species:
O. mentalis
Binomial name
Oxycheilinus mentalis
(Rüppell, 1828 )
Synonyms [2]

Cheilinus mentalis Rüppell, 1828

Oxycheilinus mentalis (mental wrasse) is a species of wrasse found in the Western Indian Ocean, in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. [2]

It has been known to change its colouration to match species of non-predatory parrotfish and surgeonfish. It then swims with these harmless model species and predates upon passing fish. This is a form of aggressive mimicry. [3] Without a model fish, the mental wrasse has a reddish pink colour.

References

  1. ↑ Liu, M.; To, A. (2010). "Oxycheilinus mentalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2010 e.T187735A8616212. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T187735A8616212.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Oxycheilinus mentalis". FishBase . August 2019 version.
  3. ↑ Randall, J. E. (2005). A review of mimicry in marine fishes. Zoological Studies, 44(3), 299–328.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.