''Parapercis maculata'', the harlequin sandperch, is a species of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Pinguipedidae The sandperches are a family, Pinguipedidae, of ray-finned fishes in the Percomorpha, percomorph Order (biology), order Labriformes. Sandperches are benthic fish which normally occur over sand or rubble Substrate (biology), substrates in shallow ...

, found in shallow waters in the tropical western Indo-Pacific Ocean.

Description

The harlequin sandperch grows to a maximum length of . It is cylindrical at the front but somewhat compressed at the back. The head is large with an oblique mouth and the eyes set near the top. There is a spine on the operculum. The dorsal fin has five spines and twenty-one (occasionally twenty-two) soft rays. The fourth spine is the longest. The anal fin has a single spine and eighteen or nineteen soft rays. The general colour is pale reddish or greyish brown, shading to white on the underparts. There are large irregular reddish-brown blotches on the back, with six distinctive reddish-brown, squarish blotches below the

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelia ...

. The dorsal fin has rows of small orange spots on the soft rays, and the anal fin has rows of white spots. The caudal fin is slightly rounded, the second to fourth rays are a little longer than the others, and the lowest quarter is reddish brown.

Distribution and habitat

The harlequin sandperch is native to shallow water in the western Indo-Pacific. Its range includes Zanzibar, India and Sri Lanka. Previously its range extended further east to include Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan, but the

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

of the fish in that region was slightly different and they are now recognised as a separate species, '' Parapercis pulchella''. It is found at depths down to about on sandy bottoms in sheltered bays and estuaries.

Biology

The harlequin sandperch is often to be seen resting on the seabed, propped up on its pelvic fins. Like many other members of its genus, it is thought to be a

protogynous hermaphrodite Sequential hermaphroditism (called dichogamy in botany) is one of the two types of hermaphroditism, the other type being simultaneous hermaphroditism. It occurs when the organism's sex changes at some point in its life. A sequential hermaphrodite ...

, starting adult life as a female and later becoming a male.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2653178 maculata Taxa named by Georges Cuvier Fish described in 1801