Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides

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Harlequin sweetlips
Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Haemulidae
Genus: Plectorhinchus
Species:
P. chaetodonoides
Binomial name
Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides
Lacépède, 1801
Synonyms [1]
  • Gaterin chaetodonoides(Lacépède, 1801)

Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides, the harlequin sweetlips, clown sweetlips, spotted sweetlips or many-spotted sweetlips, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweetlips belonging to the subfamily Plectorhinchinae, one of two subfamilies in the family Haemulidae, the grunts. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region. This species is of minor importance to local commercial fisheries and can be found in the aquarium trade.

Contents

Juvenile harlequin sweetlips mimic the movement of poisonous flatworms. Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides juvenile.JPG
Juvenile harlequin sweetlips mimic the movement of poisonous flatworms.

Description

Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides has fleshy lips which become moderately swollen as the fish grows, there are 6 pores on the chin but no central pit.< The dorsal fin typically has 12 spines, although rarely it has 11 spines. and 18-20 soft rays, the soft rayed part of the dorsal fin has a height which is roughly equal to the length of its base. The juveniles are brownish with large, discrete creamy white blotches on the body these develop brown spotting as the fish matures. As they grow into adults the coloration slowly develops a greyish background colour broken large, dark brown spots, [2] these spots having a greater diameter of the iris. The maximum recorded total length is 72 cm (28 in), although 60 cm (24 in) is more typical, and the maximum published weight is 7 kg (15 lb). [1] It is thought that the juveniles are Batesian mimics of poisonous flatworms. [3] The caudal fin of juveniles is deeply forked and has wide rounded lobes both of which are mostly white marked with a large brown spot, in adults it is much less forked. [4]

Distribution

Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides is distributed across the eastern Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean from the Maldives and Mauritius east as far as Tonga, north to the Ryukyu Islands and south to the Great Barrier Reef. One was seen off St. Martin in the West Indies in 2007, considered to be probably a deliberately released individual from an aquarium. [4]

Habitat and biology

Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides is found in coral-rich parts of clear lagoons and on seaward reefs. The adults are solitary fish, living in the vicinity of and sheltering beneath ledges or caves during the day. The juveniles are found sheltering in corals. It is a carnivorous species which preys on benthic invertebrates such as crustaceans and molluscs, as well as fishes, which it forages for during the night. [1] The juveniles typically swim in a head down posture wildly undulating their fins as they swim, a behaviour which may mimic toxic or distasteful platyhelminths or nudibranchs and so provide some protection from predation. [4]

Systematics

Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides was first formally described in 1801 by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède with no type locality given but it is likely to have been somewhere in modern Indonesia. [5] The specific name chaetodonoides means having the form of Chaetodon which when Lacépède described this species referred to both butterflyfishes and marine angelfishes and is an allusion to the serrated operculum, similar to that of marine angelfish, and the then presumption of a close taxonomic relationship between this species and the genus Chaetodon. [6]

Utilisation

Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides are caught using handlines and spear. The fish caught are marketed fresh, although some are preserved by salting. The meat of larger specimens has been described a "coarse and dry". [2] The small, colourful juveniles are collected for the aquarium trade and there may be overexploitation in some areas. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Plectorhinchus</i> Genus of fishes

Plectorhinchus is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, sweetlips belonging to the subfamily Plectorhinchinae which is one of two subfamilies in the family Haemulidae which also includes the grunts. The species in this genus are found in fresh, brackish, and salt waters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Ocean oriental sweetlips</span> Species of fish

The Indian Ocean oriental sweetlips, also known as the oriental sweetlips or oriental blubberlips, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweetlips belonging to the subfamily Plectorhinchinae, one of two subfamilies in the family Haemulidae, the grunts. It is native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ribboned sweetlips</span> Species of fish

Plectorhinchus polytaenia, the ribboned sweetlips, also known as Tesone di mare or yellow-ribbon sweetlips, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweetlips belonging to the subfamily Plectorhinchinae, one of two subfamilies in the family Haemulidae, the grunts. It is native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.

<i>Plectorhinchus pica</i> Species of fish

Plectorhinchus pica, the painted sweetlips, dotted sweetlips, magpie sweetlips or spotted sweetlips, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweetlips belonging to the subfamily Plectorhinchinae, one of two subfamilies in the family Haemulidae, the grunts. It is native to coral reefs of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. It is a commercially important species and can be found in the aquarium trade.

<i>Plectorhinchus diagrammus</i> Species of fish

Plectorhinchus diagrammus, the striped sweetlips, fourbanded sweetlips or silver-banded sweetlips, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweetlips belonging to the subfamily Plectorhinchinae, one of two subfamilies in the family Haemulidae, the grunts. It feeds on benthic invertebrates. This species can reach 40 cm (16 in) in TL. It can be found in the aquarium trade and is farmed. It is native to the eastern Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean, from the Andaman Islands to the Philippines, north as far as Japan, where it is an inhabitant of coral reefs. This species was first formally described in 1758 by Linnaeus in the 10th edition of the Systema Naturae, he gave it the name Perca diagramma. Its specific name diagrammus was not explained by Linnaeus but he cites Gronovius in his description who described “irregular longitudinal yellow lines”, so the name is inferred to “a figure marked with lines”.

<i>Plectorhinchus albovittatus</i> Species of fish

Plectorhinchus albovittatus, the two-striped sweetlips or giant sweetlips, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweetlips belonging to the subfamily Plectorhinchinae, part of the grunt family Haemulidae. It is native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.

<i>Pomadasys commersonnii</i> Species of fish

Pomadasys commersonnii, the smallspotted grunter, is a species of ray-finned fish, a grunt belonging to the family Haemulidae. It is native to the brackish and marine waters of the western Indian Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackfin slatey</span> Species of fish

The blackfin slatey, also known as blackfoot sweetlips, blackfin sweetlips or blacktip sweetlips, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweetlips belonging to the family Haemulidae. It is found in the eastern Indian Ocean and the western central Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Painted sweetlips</span> Species of fish

The painted sweetlips, also known as the Australian slatey, blackall, bluey, grey sweetlips, moke, morwong, mother-in-law fish, painted blubber-lips, slate bream, slate sweetlips, smokey bream, thicklip or yellowdot sweetlips is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweetlips belonging to the family Haemulidae. It is widespread throughout the tropical waters of the Indo-West Pacific region.

<i>Haemulon chrysargyreum</i> Species of fish

Haemulon chrysargyreum, the smallmouth grunt, bronze grunt, or yellowstripe grunt, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grunt belonging to the family Haemulidae. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean.

Plectorhinchus ceylonensis, the Sri Lanka sweetlips, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweetlips belonging to the subfamily Plectorhinchinae, one of two subfamilies in the family Haemulidae, the grunts. It is native to the Indian Ocean around Sri Lanka. It inhabits waters over coral reefs at depths from 5 to 20 m. This species is rarely found in the aquarium trade.

<i>Pomadasys kaakan</i> Species of fish

Pomadasys kaakan, the javelin grunter or barred javelin is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grunt belonging to the family Haemulidae. It is native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans, from Africa to Australia.

Plectorhinchus macrospilus, the largespot sweetlips, largespot thicklips or Andaman sweetlips, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweetlips belonging to the subfamily Plectorhinchinae, one of two subfamilies in the family Haemulidae, the grunts. It is native to the north eastern Indian Ocean.

<i>Plectorhinchus gibbosus</i> Species of fish

Plectorhinchus gibbosus, commonly known as the Harry hotlips, black sweetlips, brown sweetlips, dusky sweetlips, gibbous sweetlips, hairy hotlips or humpback sweetlips, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweetlips belonging to the subfamily Plectorhinchinae, one of two subfamilies in the family Haemulidae, the grunts. It is native to the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans.

<i>Plectorhinchus lineatus</i> Species of fish

Plectorhinchus lineatus, also known as the yellowbanded sweetlips, oblique-banded sweetlips, diagonal-banded sweetlips, Goldman's sweetlips, lined blubber-lips, lined sweetlips, many-lined sweetlips, striped sweetlips and yellowband sweetlips, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweetlips belonging to the subfamily Plectorhinchinae, one of two subfamilies in the family Haemulidae, the grunts. It inhabits coral reefs of the western Pacific Ocean, where it occurs at depths from 1 to 35 m.

<i>Plectorhinchus caeruleonothus</i> Species of fish

Plectorhinchus caeruleonothus, the blue bastard, is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Plectorhinchinae, the sweetlips, one of two subfamilies in the family Haemulidae, the grunts. It was discovered in Australia in 2015.

<i>Plectorhinchus gaterinus</i> Species of fish

Plectorhinchus gaterinus, commonly known as the blackspotted rubberlip or African grunt, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweetlips belonging to the subfamily Plectorhinchinae, one of two subfamilies in the family Haemulidae, the grunts. It is found in the western Indian Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sailfin rubberlip</span> Species of fish

The sailfin rubberlip is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweetlips belonging to the family Haemulidae. It is found in the western Indian Ocean.

<i>Diagramma labiosum</i> Species of fish

Diagramma centurio, the painted sweetlips, Australian slatey, greysweetlips, painted blubber-lips or yellowdot sweetlips, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweetlips belonging to the family Haemulidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rubberlip grunt</span> Species of fish

The rubberlip grunt is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweetlips belonging to the subfamily Plectorhinchinae, one of two subfamilies in the family Haemulidae, the grunts. It is native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2021). "Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides" in FishBase. February 2021 version.
  2. 1 2 R.J. MacKay (2001). "Haemulidae". In Carpenter, K.E. & Neim, Volker H. (eds.). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific Volume 5: Bony fishes part 3 (Menidae to Pomacentridae) (PDF). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. FAO Rome. p. 2971.
  3. ↑ Dianne J. Bray. "Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Brown, M.E. & Schofield, P.J. (2021). "Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides Lacepède, 1801". Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  5. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Plectorhinchus". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  6. ↑ Christopher Scharpf; Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (5 January 2021). "Order LUTJANIFORMES: Families HAEMULIDAE and LUTJANIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
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