Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) >
Perciformes (Perch-likes) >
Labridae (Wrasses) > Cheilininae
Etymology: Cheilinus: Greek, cheilos = lip (Ref. 45335). More on author: Rüppell.
Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 100 m (Ref. 58652). Tropical, preferred ?; 30°N - 23°S
Indo-Pacific: Red Sea to South Africa (Ref. 35918) and to the Tuamoto Islands, north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to New Caledonia. Formerly known as Vulnerable (A1d+2cd) (Y. Sadovy) but now listed as Endangered in IUCN 2004 and listed in Appendix II of CITES.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?, range 52 - ? cm
Max length : 229 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9823); common length : 60.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5450); max. published weight: 191.0 kg (Ref. 9710); max. reported age: 32 years (Ref. 51676)
Dorsal
spines
(total): 9;
Dorsal
soft rays
(total): 10;
Anal
spines: 3;
Anal
soft rays: 8. Adults of this species develop thick lips and a prominent bulbous hump on the forehead. Juveniles pale greenish with elongate dark spots on scales tending to form bars; 2 black lines posteriorly from eye (Ref. 4392).
Inhabit steep outer reef slopes, channel slopes, and lagoon reefs (Ref. 1602). Benthopelagic at 2-60 m (Ref. 58302). Usually solitary but may occur in pairs. Juveniles are encountered in coral-rich areas of lagoon reefs, where staghorn Acropora corals abound (Ref. 1602); also in algae reefs or seagrasses (Ref. 48636, 41878). Adults rove across the reefs by day and rest in reef caves and under coral ledges at night (Ref. 31343). Primary food are mollusks, fishes, sea urchins, crustaceans, and other invertebrates. One of the few predators of toxic animals such as sea hares, boxfishes and crown-of-thorns starfish (Ref. 1602). Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205). Found in Hong Kong live fish markets (Ref. 27253).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205). Also Ref. 103751.
Randall, J.E., G.R. Allen and R.C. Steene, 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 506 p. (Ref. 2334)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)
Threat to humans
Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 5374)
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: commercial
More information
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
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Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 0.5078 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01445 (0.00916 - 0.02280), b=2.99 (2.86 - 3.12), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Trophic Level (Ref.
69278): 4.0 ±0.61 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
69278): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (tm = 5-7; tmax = 32).
Prior r = 0.3, 2 SD range = 0.13 - 0.71, log(r) = -1.2, SD log(r) = 0.43, Based on: 1 K, 2 tgen, 1 tmax, records
Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): High to very high vulnerability (74 of 100) .
