Hologymnosus
| Hologymnosus | ||||||||||||
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H. annulatus or H. doliatus , male |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Hologymnosus | ||||||||||||
| Lacépède , 1801. |
Hologymnosus is a genus of Junker wrasse (Julidinae). There are four species, two of which ( H. annulatus , H. doliatus ) are widespread in the tropical areas of the Indo-Pacific . The other two are restricted to the western Pacific.
features
Hologymnosus species grow to be 32 to 40 centimeters long. They have an elongated, pike-like body. Compared to Coris species, they have significantly more scales. There is a big difference in the coloration of the juvenile fish and that of the adult fish. H. longipes , H. rhodonotus and the young of H. doliatus are light, whitish-yellow in color and have red longitudinal stripes from the tip of the snout to the root of the caudal fin. Adult H. annulatus and H. doliatus males are predominantly green and blue, the females gray or blackish in color. Numerous vertical stripes run across its sides. The males of both species show a white, wide, vertical band on the flanks during courtship .
The long dorsal fin is supported by 9 hard rays and 12 soft rays, the anal fin has 3 hard and 12 soft rays.
Way of life
Hologymnosus species are mostly found in the vicinity of reefs over sandy and scree bottoms, the females often in small groups, while the males are territorial and defend a territory from other males. The fish mainly eat smaller fish and crustaceans, and often accompany foraging red mullets or snappers . Young fish are often seen far beyond their range in the subtropics , which indicates a very long, pelagic larval stage. After the metamorphosis, they are quite large at 24 millimeters.
species
- Striped pike wrasse ( Hologymnosus annulatus ) (Lacépède, 1801)
- White-bellied pike wrasse ( Hologymnosus doliatus ) (Lacépède, 1801)
- Slender pike wrasse ( Hologymnosus longipes ) (Günther, 1862)
- Red pike wrasse ( Hologymnosus rhodonotus ) (Randall & Yamakawa, 1988)
literature
- Helmut Debelius , Rudie H. Kuiter : Wrasse. Ulmer, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-8001-3973-1 .
- Hans A. Baensch , Helmut Debelius, Horst Moosleitner: The common care of invertebrates and tropical marine fish in the aquarium. Mergus, Melle 1997, ISBN 3-88244-110-0 ( Sea Water Atlas. Volume 1).
- Ewald Lieske, Robert F. Myers: Coral fish of the world. Year, Hamburg 1994, ISBN 3-86132-112-2 .
Web links
- Hologymnosus on Fishbase.org (English)