Ribboned sweetlips
Ribboned sweetlips | |
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Ribboned sweetlips in the Philippines | |
Conservation status | |
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Perciformes |
Family: | Haemulidae |
Genus: | Plectorhinchus |
Species: | P. polytaenia |
Binomial name | |
Plectorhinchus polytaenia (Bleeker, 1853) | |
Synonyms | |
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Plectorhinchus polytaenia, the ribboned sweetlips, is a species of grunt native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean, where they can be found on coral reefs at depths from 5 to 40 m (16 to 131 ft). This species can reach 50 cm (20 in) in TL. It is important commercially as a food fish.[1]
Juveniles have black stripes and live alone on rubble slopes in deep water. As they age, the black is reduced to an outline, and the stripes become more yellow; increasing stripes develop with age.[2] Their bright colors help them blend into the coral in which they live. These fish feed on crabs, shrimps, sea snails, and worms.
References
- ↑ Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2013). "Plectorhinchus polytaenia" in FishBase. August 2013 version.
- ↑ Debelius, Helmut (2001) Asia Pacific Reef Guide ISBN 3-925919-56-2