Sandager's wrasse

Species of fish From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sandager's wrasse (Coris sandeyeri) is a species of wrasse native to the southwestern Pacific Ocean ranging from Australia to New Zealand and the Kermadec Islands. This species can be found on reefs down to depths of about 60 metres (200 ft). It can reach a length of 25 centimetres (9.8 in) TL. It can also be found in the aquarium trade.[2]

Phylum:Chordata
Division:Teleostei
Quick facts 's wrasse, Conservation status ...
Sandager's wrasse
Male (top) and female (bottom)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Division: Teleostei
Order: Labriformes
Family: Labridae
Genus: Coris
Species:
C. sandeyeri
Binomial name
Coris sandeyeri
(Hector, 1884)
Synonyms[2]
  • Cymolutes sandeyeri Hector, 1884
  • Coris sandageri (Hector, 1884)
  • Coris rex E. P. Ramsay & J. D. Ogilby, 1886
  • Coris trimaculata J. D. Ogilby, 1888
Close

Etymology

The fish was named after Andreas Fleming Stewart Sandager, a lighthouse keeper in New Zealand who collected the first specimen. As the scientific name has sandeyeri as the specific epithet, a proposal was made in 1927 to change it to "sandageri" on the theory that the original description constituted a misspelling. However, in 2011, it was shown that "Sandager" was also spelled "Sandeyer" at that time and thus that the original spelling of the scientific name should stand.[3]

Behavior

The wrasses live in small shoals consisting of one male and several 'attendant' females and juveniles. In the presence of the male, all juveniles will grow into females, but when the male dies or is removed from the shoal, the group's dominant female then undergoes physiological changes to convert herself into a male. (Greenwood. T., et al., 2012)

Description

The male fish has a deeper body, and differs significantly in colouration. For example, the male has very distinctive bands, whereas the female is paler in colour and only has 2 dark spots.(Greenwood. T. et al., 2012)

Juvenile
Female
Male

References

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI