Hemigymnus
| Hemigymnus | ||||||||||||
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Stripe banner wrasse ( Hemigymnus fasciatus ), |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Hemigymnus | ||||||||||||
| Günther , 1861 |
Hemigymnus is a genus of Junker wrasse (Julidinae). There are only two species common in the Red Sea and the tropical areas of the Indo-Pacific .
features
Hemigymnus species grow to be 18 to 20 inches long. They have a beefy body and a large head compared to other junker wrasse. The mouth is terminal , pointed, and has thick, fleshy lips. They are unmistakably drawn in black and white, H. fasciatus with a pattern of vertical stripes, with H. melapterus the head and front body are white, the rear body black ( hemigymnus [from Greek] means "half-naked"). Yellow tones can also appear on the head and fins. Young fish that are smaller than 40 mm have a camouflage color.
Way of life
Hemigymnus species live as solitary animals on the edge of rocky and coral reefs over sand and scree. They eat various small invertebrates, which they sift out of the sand that they ingest with their mouths and chew through. With their characteristic swimming style, juvenile fish hide themselves upside down between long-pricked sea urchins .
species
- Stripe banner wrasse ( Hemigymnus fasciatus ) (Bloch, 1792)
- Two-colored banner wrasse ( Hemigymnus melapterus ) (Bloch, 1791)
literature
- Rudie H. Kuiter: Wrasse. Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-8001-3973-1
- E. Lieske, RF Myers: Coral fish of the world , year publisher, 1994, ISBN 3-86132-112-2
Web links
- Hemigymnus on Fishbase.org (English)