Humphead wrasse
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| Cheilinus undulatus Rüppell, 1835 |
The humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) is a wrasse that is mainly found in coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region. It is also known as the Maori wrasse, Napoleon wrasse, Napoleonfish; or "So Mei" 蘇眉 (Cantonese) and "Mameng" (Filipino).
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[edit] Description
The humphead wrasse is the largest living member of the family Labridae, with males reaching 6 feet (2 m) in length, while females rarely exceed about 3 feet (1 m). It has thick, fleshy lips and a hump that forms on its head above the eyes, becoming more prominent as the fish ages. Males range from a bright electric blue to green, a purplish blue, or a relatively dull blue/green. Juveniles and females are red-orange above, and red-orange to white below. Some males grow very large, with one unconfirmed report of a Humphead Wrasse that was 7.75 feet (2.29 m) long and weighed 420 lbs (190.5 kg).
[edit] Ecology
Adults are confined to steep coral reef slopes, channel slopes, and lagoon reefs in water 3 to 330 feet (1-100 m) deep. They primarily eat mollusks, fishes, sea urchins, crustaceans, and other invertebrates and are one of the few predators of toxic animals such as sea hares, boxfishes, and crown-of-thorns star fish. This species actively selects branching hard and soft corals and seagrasses at settlement. Juveniles tend to prefer a more cryptic existence in areas of dense branching corals, bushy macroalgae or seagrasses, while larger individuals and adults prefer to occupy limited home ranges in more open habitat on the edges of reefs, channels, and reef passes. The species is most often observed in solitary male-female pairs, or groups of two to seven individuals.
[edit] Reproduction
Individuals become sexually mature at 5 to 7 years and can live at least 30 years. This fish also changes sex from female to male over time. The factors that control the timing of sex change are not yet known. Adults move to a local spawning aggregation site where they concentrate to spawn at certain times of the year.
[edit] Conservation
The humphead wrasse is long lived, but has a very slow breeding rate. its numbers have declined due to a number of threats.
Threats include: 1) intensive and species-specific removal in the live reef food fish trade; 2) . In December 2003, Australia prohibited all take and possession of humphead wrasse, other than for limited educational purposes and public display. In Guangzhou province, southern mainland China, permits are required for the sale of this species; Indonesia allows fishing only for research, mariculture, and licensed artisanal fishing; the Maldives instituted an export ban in 1995; Papua New Guinea prohibits export of fish over 2 feet (65 cm) Total Length; and Niue has banned all fishing for this species.
[edit] See also
- bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum)
[edit] References
- Russell (2004). Cheilinus undulatus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 10 May 2006.
- Cheilinus undulatus (TSN 170619). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 24 January 2006.
- "Cheilinus undulatus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. January 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
- The Red Sea (1995) Eds. Bonechi ISBN 88-8029-301-X
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