The bird wrasse, ''Gomphosus varius'', is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of the

wrasse The wrasses are a family, Labridae, of marine ray-finned fish, many of which are brightly colored. The family is large and diverse, with over 600 species in 81 genera, which are divided into nine subgroups or tribes. They are typically small, ...

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Description

The bird wrasse is a medium-sized fish which can reach a

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is ...

of . It has an elongated body, laterally compressed, with a truncated tail and a long snout. Adults are relatively easy to recognize by their characteristic long nose and the jerky flapping of their pectoral fins when swimming. Juveniles are more difficult to identify, as they haven't yet developed the characteristic prominent snout.Myers, R.F., 1999. Micronesian reef fishes: a comprehensive guide to the coral reef fishes of Micronesia, 3 rd revised and expanded edition. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 330 p. ''Gomphosus varius'' can be confused with its close relative ''Gomphosus caeruleus'', but differs from the latter by its color pattern and its geographic range. Like many wrasses, ''Gomphosus varius'' is a

sequential hermaphrodite Sequential hermaphroditism (called dichogamy in botany) is one of the two types of hermaphroditism, the other type being simultaneous hermaphroditism. It occurs when the organism's sex changes at some point in its life. A sequential hermaphrodit ...

. As it changes sex, its body shape, color intensity and pattern vary considerably. The female is smaller than the male and its body color is duller. The anterior half or the first third of the body is light-colored: the belly and chest are pearly white, the scales of the flanks are grayish and lined with a dark border, the upper half of the snout is red-orange, a brown longitudinal fine line crosses the eye and the

pectoral fins Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only b ...

are translucent. The male body color is more uniform than the female's. Its dominant color is greenish; the intensity varies from one individual to another, but also according to maturity and mating period. The head can also have a dark bluish color. A yellowish color, lighter green than the flanks, tints the shoulder of the

pectoral fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...

Distribution and habitat

The bird wrasse is found in tropical and subtropical waters of the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

, from the eastern part of the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

to the oceanic islands of the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

, including the Hawaiian archipelago. They frequent external slopes, reefs, and lagoon areas rich in hard coral.

Biology

The bird wrasse is diurnally active; it is usually solitary, but can sometimes be observed in small groups. Like other wrasses, it is

carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose nutrition and energy requirements are met by consumption of animal tissues (mainly mu ...

, its diet consisting primarily of small

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning "the depths". ...

crustaceans Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of Arthropod, arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquat ...

caught in

corals Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

, but it may also feed on

brittle stars Brittle stars, serpent stars, or ophiuroids (; ; referring to the serpent-like arms of the brittle star) are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea, closely related to starfish. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomot ...

molluscs Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...

and small

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

.Randall, J.E., G.R. Allen and R.C. Steene, 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 506 p. During its lifetime, the bird wrasse undergoes a sexual metamorphosis corresponding to

sequential hermaphroditism Sequential hermaphroditism (called dichogamy in botany) is one of the two types of hermaphroditism, the other type being simultaneous hermaphroditism. It occurs when the organism's sex changes at some point in its life. A sequential hermaphrodit ...

; it may be a

protogynous hermaphrodite Sequential hermaphroditism (called dichogamy in botany) is one of the two types of hermaphroditism, the other type being simultaneous hermaphroditism. It occurs when the organism's sex changes at some point in its life. A sequential hermaphrodite ...

, starting as a female and then become male.

Hybridization

''Gomphosus'' ''varius'' sometimes hybridizes with ''

Thalassoma ''Thalassoma'' is a genus of wrasses native to the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Many species occasionally make their way into the aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transpare ...

'' species in the wild, such as '' T. lunare'' and '' T. duperrey''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gomphosus Varius varius Fish of Hawaii Fish of Palau Fish described in 1801 Taxa named by Bernard Germain de Lacépède