Clepticus parrae
Creole Wrasse
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
There are no photos available for this taxon yet.
Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Labridae (Wrasses)
Clepticus
Clepticus parrae (Creole Wrasse)
Description
This species account was compiled from
McEachran & Fechhelm (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page.
Learn more about our species accounts.
Characters
Moderately slender, dorsal and ventral profiles equally curved, blunt snout, deeply forked caudal fin. Dorsal profile of head nearly straight. Maxilla fails to reach anterior margin of eye. Anterior jaw teeth small and blunt, with two canine teeth on side of symphysis in upper jaw and one canine on side of symphysis in lower jaw. Preopercular margin serrated. Gill rakers on first gill arch slender and short, numbering 26 to 28. Measurements (% SL): head length 29%–31%, snout length 8%–9%, eye diameter 5%–7%, upper jaw length 7%–8%, pectoral fin length 27%–31%, body depth 30%–37%. Pectoral fin extremely winglike with 17 or 18 rays. Dorsal fin has 12 spines and 10 rays. Anal fin has 3 spines and 12 or 13 rays. In adults, fifth, sixth, and seventh dorsal and anal rays prolonged. Caudal fin lunate. Scales cover body and head except for lips, snout, and basal parts of dorsal and anal fins. Lateral line continuous with 32 pored scales.
Violet or purple, with wash of yellow over ventral two-thirds of body, most distinct on anal fin and caudal peduncle. Teeth and bones pale blue. Juveniles less than 70 mm SL purplish dorsally and silvery ventrally, with about six short, black mottled bars on side above lateral line.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from southern Florida and Bermuda to Brazil, including the northern and southern Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Antilles.
Habitat Associations
Patch reefs, reef edges, and oil platforms. Depth range not specified.
Juveniles dwell in sponges at night, and adults rest in crevices of coral reefs at night.
Biology
Feeds on zooplankton, including jellyfishes, copepods, pteropods, and pelagic tunicates in the water column.
Maximum known size is 300 mm TL.
References
Stark and Davis 1966
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Randall 1968a
Randall 1996
Collette and Talbot 1972
Bright and Cashman 1974
Greenfield 1975a
Sonnier et al. 1976
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Robins and Ray 1986
Smith 1997
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
Westneat 2002a
Comments On Clepticus parrae