Plectorhinchus pica

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Plectorhinchus pica
Plectorhinchus picus.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. pica
Binomial name
Plectorhinchus pica
(G. Cuvier, 1828)
Synonyms [1]
  • Diagramma picaCuvier, 1830
  • Gaterin picus(Cuvier, 1830)
  • Plectorhinchus picus(Cuvier, 1830)
  • Diagramma picaCuvier, 1828
  • Diagramma punctatissimum Playfair, 1868
  • Gaterin punctatissimus(Playfair, 1868)
  • Plectorhinchus punctatissimus(Playfair, 1868)

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.

Contents

Description

Plectorhinchus pica has fleshy lips which swell with age. There are 6 pores on its chin bit there is no median pit. [2] The dorsal fin contains 12-14 spines and 17-20 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 7-8 soft rays. [1] The adults are patterned with dark brown spots which cover the head, back, flanks and fins. They have a dark brown to blackish dorsal fin which has large black spots and a central longitudinal grey stripe which is on the membranes but not the spines or rays, at the base of the pectoral and pelvic fins there is a patch of bright red in some individuals. The inside of the mouth, the rear margin of the maxilla and the gill membranes are scarlet to reddish-brown. The underparts are abdomen is pale greyish purple. The juveniles are white below and black above, the black being broken by a white snout and white saddle marks and spots. [3] This species attains a maximum total length of 84 cm (33 in), although 70 cm (28 in) is more typical. [1]

Distribution

Plectorhinchus pica is found in the Indo-Pacific region from the Socotra, the Seychelles, the Comoros Islands, Madagascar and Mauritius east into the Pacific Ocean to the Society Islands, in the Pacific it ranges north to southern Japan and Ogasawara Islands, south to Australia, New Caledonia and Rapa Iti. [4] In Australian waters this species is found along the Great Barrier Reef as far south as Jervis Bay in New South Wales, with juveniles being recorded south to Barunguba / Montague Island, they are also found at Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. [3]

Habitat and biology

Plectorhinchus pica is found in both lagoon and seaward reefs, here the adults usually hide within caves or underneath coral heads, frequently along the margins of the reefs. The juveniles are frequently encountered in shallow lagoons. [3] The adults are solitary and they feed on crustaceans and molluscs. It is an oviparous species which spawns as distinct pairs. [1] They hide in their shelters during the day and forage at night, they will also eat smaller fishes. [5]

Systematics

Plectorhinchus pica was first formally described as Diagramma pica in 1828 by the French zoologist George’s Cuvier with no type locality being given, although Tahiti and the Indian Ocean have been suggested. [4] The specific name Cuvier gave this taxon, pica, means "magpie", as in the Eurasian magpie (Pica pica), a reference to the black and white coloration of the juveniles. It has been suggested that the use of the specific name picus is an error as the word pica is a noun, not an adjective and should not change gender to match that of the new genus name. [6] In fact, Cuvier used the French word for magpie pie when he described this species and used “Le Diagramme Pie” to refer to his Diagramma pica. [3]

Utilisation

Plectorhinchus pica can be abundant in parts of its range, [2] and is commercially fished using hand nets and by spear fishing. [3] The catch is sold fresh or a small amount of it is preserved as salted fish. [2] The juveniles sometimes appear in the aquarium trade, [5] although the large adults are unsuitable for home aquaria. [7]

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.

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

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.

<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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunar fusilier</span> Species of fish

The lunar fusilier, also known as the blue fusilier or moon fusilier, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a fusilier belonging to the family Caesionidae. It is widespread throughout the tropical waters of the Indo-West Pacific area.

<i>Diagramma</i> Genus of fishes

Diagramma is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Haemulidae, grunts native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. The currently recognized species in this genus are:

<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.

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.

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.

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

Diagramma punctatum is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweetlips belonging to the family Haemulidae. This species attains a maximum total length of 35 cm (14 in). It is found in the western Indian Ocean, including the Red Sea and Socotra. This species was first formally described in 1830 by Georges Cuvier with the type locality given as the Red Sea. The specific name means “spotted” and refers to the spots on the heads of the adults and subadults.

<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 4 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2021). "Plectorhinchus picus" in FishBase. February 2021 version.
  2. 1 2 3 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. 2979.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Bray, D.J. (2021). "Plectorhinchus pica". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  4. 1 2 Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Plectorhinchus". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Plectorhinchus picus". Saltcorner!. Bob Goemans. 2012. Retrieved 28 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 28 April 2021.
  7. ↑ "Plectorhinchus picus". reefapp.net. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
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