''Halichoeres scapularis'', commonly called the Zigzag wrasse , is a fish species in 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 ...

native from the

Indo-West 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 s ...

.Lieske & Myers,''Coral reef fishes'',Princeton University Press, 2009,

Description

The zigzag wrasse is a small fish that can reach a maximum length of 20 cm. It has a thin, elongate body with a terminal mouth. Its coloration pattern varies depending on the maturity stages. As a juvenile and a female, the zigzag wrasse has a pearly white background coloration with a black or yellow or also black and yellow stripe zigzagging along the

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelia ...

. As a mature male, the body coloration is very elaborated. The inferior side of the

is pearly with pinkish reflection. The black or yellow line tend to disappear with age or it can be reduced to a short dash. The superior part is greenish with pink accents until the base of the

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

. The base of the

is highlighted by a bright yellow line. Then superimposed over this later yellow line a blue line, a yellow one, green one and finally a fin pinkish one. The iris of the eye is orange.

Distribution & habitat

The zigzag wrasse is widespread throughout the tropical and subtropical waters of the

, from the eastern coast of Africa, Red Sea included, to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and from

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

to south

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The zigzag wrasse appreciates mixed areas of top reef (sand/rubble/corals) in shallow water down to 20 meters depth.

Biology

The zigzag wrasse can live in small group but is usually solitary and even aggressive towards members of its own species.Cornic, A., 1987. Poissons de l'Ile Maurice. Editions de l'Océan Indien, Stanley Rose Hill, Ile Maurice. 335 p. Like most wrasse, the chain-lined wrasse is 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 ...

, i.e. individuals start life as females with the capability of turning male later on.

Conservation status

The species is targeted but not thought to be threatened by the aquarium trade. It is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the UICN.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1043392 scapularis Taxa named by Edward Turner Bennett Fish described in 1832