Halichoeres ornatissimus

Ornate wrasse | Ornamental Wrasse | Ornamented Wrasse
Halichoeres ornatissimus
Halichoeres ornatissimus, male, Mellish Reef, Coral Sea, Photo: Graham Edgar
Halichoeres ornatissimus
Halichoeres ornatissimus, juvenile, Mellish Reef, Coral Sea, Photo: Graham Edgar
Halichoeres ornatissimus
Halichoeres ornatissimus, female, Hawaii, USA, Photo: Graham Edgar
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Halichoeres ornatissimus
Halichoeres ornatissimus
Halichoeres ornatissimus

Distribution

Tropical Indo-Pacific


Description

Green body with broken, irregular red stripes, pale belly, black spot in centre of dorsal fin. Females with green scale centres surrounded by red edges on upper body, green stripe from above eye along back to tail base, pale belly and two ocelli on dorsal fin. Juveniles black with yellow stripes along body and two large blue centred ocelli on dorsal fin.


Information

Max Size: 18 cm

Sea Temperature Range: 24-30°C

Depth: 1-15m

Habitat Generalization Index: 7.97

Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.


Conservation and Rarity

IUCN Status: Least Concern

Occurrence: Infrequent (7.6% of sites)

Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed

Abundance: Several (5 per transect)

Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.


Edit by: Joe Shields