Pseudojuloides cerasinus
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| Pseudojuloides cerasinus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Labriformes |
| Family: | Labridae |
| Genus: | Pseudojuloides |
| Species: | P. cerasinus |
| Binomial name | |
| Pseudojuloides cerasinus (Snyder, 1904) | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
|
Pseudojulis cerasina Snyder, 1904 | |
Pseudojuloides cerasinus, the smalltail wrasse or the pencil wrasse, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a wrasse from the family Labridae. It is found in the tropical Pacific Ocean and was previously considered to have a much wider distribution but the recognition of new species has reduced this wide range.
Pseudojuloides cerasinus in their male or terminal phase has a distinctive blue mid-lateral stripe which is situated immediately above a yellow stripe and the posterior portion of the caudal fin is black,[3] edged with blue.[4] In these males the body is an overall green colour and they have a single blue facial stripe.[5] Some males show black spots on the membranes between the first two spines on the dorsal fin. Females of all species in the genus Pseudojuloides tend to be orange or reddish in colour.[3] This is a small species which grows to a total length of 103 millimetres (4.1 in).[1]