''Plectorhinchus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

, sweetlips belonging to the subfamily Plectorhinchinae which is one of two subfamilies in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Haemulidae Haemulidae is a family of fishes in the order Perciformes known commonly as grunts. It is made up of the two subfamilies Haemulinae (grunters) and Plectorhynchinae (sweetlips), which in turn contain about 133 species in 19 genera. These fish ar ...

which also includes the grunts. The species in this genus are found in

fresh Fresh or FRESH may refer to: People *DJ Fresh (born 1977), UK-based drum and bass artist *DJ Fresh (producer), US-based R&B producer born Marqus Brown Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Fresh'' (1994 film), a crime film * ''Fresh'' (200 ...

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

, and salt waters.

Description and characteristics

These fish have big, fleshy lips and tend to live on

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...

s in the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

in small groups or pairs. They will often associate with other fishes of similar species; several species of sweetlips sometimes swim together. They are usually seen in clusters in nooks and crannies or under overhangs. At nightfall, they venture from their shelters to seek out their bottom-dwelling invertebrate prey, such as bristleworms,

shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

s, and small

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

s. Sweetlips colouring and patterning changes throughout their lives. For example, ''Plectorhinchus polytaenia'' develops more stripes with age. Juvenile sweetlips generally look quite different from the adults, and often live solitary lives on shallower reef sections. Juveniles may be banded or spotted and are usually a completely different colour from the adults of their species. Small juveniles have an undulating swimming pattern, possibly mimicking poisonous

flatworm The flatworms, flat worms, Platyhelminthes, or platyhelminths (from the Greek πλατύ, ''platy'', meaning "flat" and ἕλμινς (root: ἑλμινθ-), ''helminth-'', meaning "worm") are a phylum of relatively simple bilaterian, unsegment ...

s as a means of predator avoidance.

Species

These are the currently recognized species in this genus: * '' Plectorhinchus albovittatus'' ( Rüppell, 1838) (Two-striped sweetlips) * '' Plectorhinchus caeruleonothus'' J. W. Johnson & Worthington Wilmer, 2015 (Blue bastard)
* '' Plectorhinchus ceylonensis'' (

J. L. B. Smith James Leonard Brierley Smith (26 September 1897 – 8 January 1968) was a South African ichthyologist, organic chemist, and university professor. He was the first to identify a taxidermied fish as a coelacanth, at the time thought to be long ex ...

, 1956) (Sri Lanka sweetlips) * '' Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides'' Lacépède, 1801 (Harlequin sweetlips) * '' Plectorhinchus chrysotaenia'' (

Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Plectorhinchus chubbi'' (

Regan The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri'' ...

, 1919) (Dusky rubberlip) * ''

Plectorhinchus cinctus ''Plectorhinchus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, sweetlips belonging to the subfamily Plectorhinchinae which is one of two subfamilies in the family Haemulidae which also includes the grunts. The species in this genus are found in fresh ...

'' (

Temminck Coenraad Jacob Temminck (; 31 March 1778 – 30 January 1858) was a Dutch aristocrat, zoologist and museum director. Biography Coenraad Jacob Temminck was born on 31 March 1778 in Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic. From his father, Jacob Temminck ...

Schlegel Schlegel is a German occupational surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Anthony Schlegel (born 1981), former American football linebacker * August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767–1845), German poet, older brother of Friedrich * Brad Schlege ...

, 1843) (Crescent sweetlips) * '' Plectorhinchus diagrammus'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the sta ...

) (Striped sweetlips) * '' Plectorhinchus faetela'' ( Forsskål, 1775) * '' Plectorhinchus flavomaculatus'' (

G. Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier was a major figure in nat ...

, 1830) (Lemonfish) * '' Plectorhinchus gaterinus'' ( Forsskål, 1775) (Blackspotted rubberlip) * '' Plectorhinchus gibbosus'' ( Lacépède, 1802) (Harry hotlips) * '' Plectorhinchus griseus'' (

, 1830) * '' Plectorhinchus lessonii'' (

, 1830) (Lesson's thicklip) * '' Plectorhinchus lineata'' (

) (Yellowbanded sweetlips) * '' Plectorhinchus macrolepis'' (

Boulenger Boulenger is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Benjamin Boulenger (born 1990), French footballer * Edward George Boulenger (1888–1946), British zoologist, director of aquarium at London Zoo * George Albert Boulenger (1858–1 ...

, 1899) (Biglip grunt) * '' Plectorhinchus macrospilus'' Satapoomin & J. E. Randall, 2000 (Largespot sweetlips) * '' Plectorhinchus makranensis'' Damadi, Moghaddam, Ghassemzadeh, GhanbarifardiDamadi E, Moghaddam FY, Ghassemzadeh F, Ghanbarifardi M (2020) Plectorhinchus makranensis (Teleostei, Haemulidae), a new species of sweetlips from the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. ZooKeys 980: 141-154. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.980.50934 * '' Plectorhinchus mediterraneus'' ( Guichenot, 1850) (Rubberlip grunt) * '' Plectorhinchus multivittatus'' ( W. J. Macleay, 1878) (Many-lined sweetlips) * '' Plectorhinchus obscurus'' ( Günther, 1872) (Giant sweetlips) * '' Plectorhinchus paulayi''

Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachner describ ...

, 1895 (Zebra sweetlips) * '' Plectorhinchus pictus'' ( Tortonese, 1936) (Trout sweetlips) * '' Plectorhinchus picus'' (

, 1828) (Painted sweetlips) * '' Plectorhinchus plagiodesmus'' Fowler, 1935 (Barred rubberlip) * '' Plectorhinchus playfairi'' ( Pellegrin, 1914) (Whitebarred rubberlip) * '' Plectorhinchus polytaenia'' (

Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Plectorhinchus schotaf'' ( Forsskål, 1775) (Minstrel sweetlips) * '' Plectorhinchus sordidus'' ( Klunzinger, 1870) (Sordid rubberlip) * '' Plectorhinchus umbrinus'' ( Klunzinger, 1870) * '' Plectorhinchus unicolor'' ( W. J. Macleay, 1883) (Sombre sweetlips) * '' Plectorhinchus vittatus'' (

) (Indian Ocean oriental sweetlips) Image:Harlequin Sweetlips (Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides) (8499712403).jpg, '' Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides'' Image:KoshoDI.jpg, ''Plectorhinchus cinctus'' Image:Plectorhinchus flavomaculatus at Red Sea Aquarium by Hatem Moushir 1.JPG, ''Plectorhinchus flavomaculatus'' Image:Plectorhinchus gaterinus by Line1.jpg, ''Plectorhinchus gaterinus'' Image:Plectorhinchus gibbosus Landaagiraavaru.JPG, ''Plectorhinchus gibbosus'' Image:Plectorhinchus lineatus.jpg, '' Plectorhinchus lineata'' Image:Plectorhinchus obscurus Landaagiraavaru.JPG, ''Plectorhinchus obscurus'' Image:Plectorhinchus picus.jpg, '' Plectorhinchus picus'' Image:Plectorhinchus polytaenia.jpg, '' Plectorhinchus polytaenia'' Image:Oriental Sweetlips.jpg, '' Plectorhinchus vittatus'' Image:Baby Harlequin Sweetlips.jpg, Juveniles

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q135508 Plectorhinchinae Extant Miocene first appearances Taxa named by Bernard Germain de Lacépède Marine fish genera