Red-breasted wrasse

The red-breasted wrasse (Cheilinus fasciatus) is a species of wrasse native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.^[2]

Red-breasted wrasse
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Labriformes
Family:	Labridae
Genus:	Cheilinus
Species:	C. fasciatus
Binomial name
Cheilinus fasciatus (Bloch, 1791)
Synonyms[2]
Sparus fasciatus Bloch, 1791 Cheilinus fasciatus fasciatus (Bloch, 1791) Labrus enneacanthus Lacépède, 1801 Sparus bandatus Perry, 1810 Cheilinus quinquecinctus Rüppell, 1835

Description

This species can reach a maximum of 40 cm (16 in) in standard length.^[2] Its head is greenish-blue, followed by a distinctive red-orange band followed by black and white stripes. Terminal phase fishes generally have a more pronounced red band and convex forehead than initial phase and juvenile fish.

Distribution

The red-breasted wrasse is native to the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific region from the Red Sea and the African coast to the islands of the western Pacific.^[2]

Habitat and diet

Hungry Red-breasted wrasse in Wakatobi National Park, 2018

The red-breasted wrasse lives in lagoons and seaward reefs in areas mixing rubble, coral, and sand at depths of from 4 to 60 m (13 to 197 ft) though rarer below 40 m (130 ft).^[2]

It feeds mainly on crustaceans, sea urchins, hard-shelled invertebrates, and mollusks.^[3]