Hemigymnus melapterus
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Labridae (Wrasses)
Hemigymnus
Hemigymnus melapterus
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: fusiform / normal. This species is distinguished by the following characters: gill rakers 26-29; small juveniles dark brown, green on snout and interorbital, with a slightly oblique white bar from front of dorsal fin to abdomen, and 2 narrow pale yellowish bars below soft portion of dorsal fin that fade ventrally; larger juveniles have a white bar from origin of dorsal fin, passing beneath pectoral fin onto abdomen; head and body anterior to bar greyish green, posterior to bar black; posterior caudal peduncle and caudal fin yellow, often with 1 or 2 small black spots centrally near base: small females with body posterior to a curving demarcation between origins of dorsal and anal fins blackish with a narrow dark greenish bar on each scale, grading to yellow with blue-green spots posteriorly on caudal peduncle and fin; large females dark green posterior to oblique demarcation on body, the scales rimmed in black, with a vertical green line or spot on each scale; head and anterior body light green dorsally, pale blue-green ventrally, have irregular bands on snout and above eye, and a large complex marking behind eye; body of males posterior to demarcation dark green, each scale with narrow pale blue-green and black posterior margin; head green dorsally with irregular green to blue-green bands, including a blue ring around eye; cheek and operculum pinkish white with irregular light blue lines and spots, except for a large yellowish green blotch centrally on cheek without markings; lips and ventral part of head mainly pale blue; chest and abdomen pinkish white with a light blue spot or arc on scales (Ref. 93095). Striking features: none.
Distribution
Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea, East Africa to Samoa; north to Ryukyu Is.; south to Australia.
Habitat Associations
Marine. reef-associated. depth range 0-30 m. Found in: estuaries, mangroves, coral reefs.
Biology
Found in subtidal reef flats and lagoon and seaward reefs. Juveniles occur inshore, found among branching corals while adults found in areas of mixed sand, rubble, and coral (Ref. 9710). Large adults in deeper water (Ref. 48636). Maximum length beyond 45 cm TL is unlikely, with largest measured individual at 37 cm TL (Ref, Feeds mainly on small invertebrates, especially crustaceans, polychaete worms, mollusks and brittle stars (Ref. 9823). Diet changing from primarily demersal planktonic crustaceans to hard-shelled invertebrates with growth (Ref. 37816). Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 128797.
Max length: 39.6 cm TL; max weight: 1321 g.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; mating system: monogamy. Oviparous, with distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2008-07-12. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish; aquarium: commercial.
References
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
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.
Sano, M., M. Shimizu and Y. Nose (1984) Food habits of teleostean reef fishes in Okinawa Island, southern Japan. University of Tokyo Bulletin, no. 25. v,128p. University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo, Japan. 128 p.
Lieske, E. and R. Myers (1994) Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400 p.
Randall, J.E. (2013) Review of the Indo-Pacific labrid fish genus Hemigymnus. J. Ocean Sci. Found. 6:2-18. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.1035950
Matthews, T., J. Gourley, A. Flores, M. Ramon and M. Trianni (2019) Length-weight relationships for 83 reef and bottomfish species from the commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Pacific Islands Fish. Sci. Cent. Admin. Rep. H-19-04, 7 p.
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