The broomtail wrasse (''Cheilinus lunulatus'') is a species of
wrasse
The wrasses are a family, Labridae, of marine fish, many of which are brightly colored. The family is large and diverse, with over 600 species in 81 genera, which are divided into 9 subgroups or tribes.
They are typically small, most of them le ...
native to the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...
and
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
.
Description
''Cheilinus lunulatus'' can reach an average length of about , with a maximum of in males. In adults, the head is large and bright green, with small spots. The lips are large and blue. The pectoral fins are yellow, while the abdominal, the anal, and caudal fins are dark blue. The body is yellow-green in the middle and dark purple in the other part. Close to the operculum is a characteristic bright-yellow marking on a black background. It has a long fringed caudal fin, resembling an old broom (hence the common name). Females and juveniles show large, dark stripes on their flanks. This wrasse feeds mainly on molluscs and hard-shelled invertebrates. It is oviparous.
Distribution
This species occurs in the Red Sea to the Gulf of Oman (mainly near
Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
,
Eritrea
Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
, the
Seychelles
Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...
, and
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
). In the Indo-Pacific, it is replaced by the closely related ''Cheilinus trilobatus''.
Habitat
Broomtail wrasses can be found on coral reefs and on adjacent sand and seagrass habitats, at depths of from .
References
FishBase*
BiolibPictures of C. lunulatusFran.cornu.free* Lieske E., 1998 - Peces de arrecifes coralinos del Indo-Pacífico y Caribe – Omega, Barcelona
* Randall J.E. - Red Sea reef fishes - Immel Publishing, London 1986
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q829792
Broomtail wrasse
Fish described in 1775