PSEUDOJULOIDES SPLENDENS - (VICTOR, 2017)
Actinopterygii (Gigaclass) > Actinopteri (Class) > Teleostei (Subclass) > Labriformes (Order) > Labroidei (Suborder) > Labridae (Family) > Pseudojuloides (Genus)
Labre splendide, Splendid pencil wrasse,
Description
Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 12 all soft dorsal- and anal-fin segmented rays branched, last split to base; Pectoral fin rays: 13, the first rudimentary, the second usually unbranched; Pelvic fin rays I,5; Principal caudal fin rays: 14, the upper and lower unbranched; Upper and lower procurrent caudal-fin rays: 6; Pored lateral line scales: 27 (+1 on caudal-fin base); Gill rakers, including rudiments: 14-17. Body elongate (all measurements on types over 70 mm SL), the depth: 4.2 (4.0-4.3) in SL, and moderately compressed, the width: 1.9 (1.8-2.4) in depth. Max. length: 12.0 cm TL. Depth range: 2 - 61 m, usually: 21 - 45 m.
Color
Female Initial phase: orangish to reddish to pink, grading to whitish ventrally, snout yellowish and/or bluish, often with a dark spot at midline tip, no dark mark at front of dorsal fin, median fins yellowish.
Terminal phase male: greenish upper body, bluish lower body, variably tan-pink along dorsal midline, distinctive mid-lateral blue stripe over yellow stripe along side of body; Head green above, blue below, with two blue stripes behind eye extending across operculum, snout with a dark to tan band on anterior dorsal midline overlying a blue band and then a green band in front of eye; No dark mark at front of dorsal fin; Caudal fin slightly rounded to truncate, with prominent distal black semicircle.
Etymology
Pseudojuloides: from Greek, pseudes = false + from Greek, iouis = a fish without identification, perhaps some of genus Coris cited by Plinius + from Greek, oides = similar to.
splendens: from Latin, splendeō = shine, shining, glittering, gleaming, glistening, bright, brilliant. Named for the splendid color pattern of the terminale phase male.
Original description: Pseudojuloides splendens Victor, 2017 - Type locality: Pango, Efate, Vanuatu, –17.778°, 168.295°, G. Norton & staff, 1 September 2013.
Distribution
Tropical and sub-tropical western Pacific: southern Japan in the north, to New South Wales in Australia in the south, and in the Western Pacific island chains ranging from Maug Island in the Northern Mariana Islands south to Lord Howe Island, New Caledonia and eastward to Kwajalein Atoll in the north Pacific and to Samoa in the south Pacific.
Biology
Occurs in clear lagoon and seaward reefs; common over coral rubble with algal clumps or in areas dominated with live coral.
Similar species
Pseudojuloides cerasinus (Snyder, 1904) - Reported from Northern-central Pacific: Hawaiian Islands (U.S.A.) endemic.
Pseudojuloides kaleidos (Kuiter & Randall, 1995) - Reported from Indo-Pacific: Maldives and Andaman Sea to Indonesia (Sumatra to West Papua).
Pseudojuloides polackorum (Connell, Victor & Randall, 2015) - Reported from Western Indian Ocean: KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) and East Africa to northern Madagascar.
Pseudojuloides polynesica (Victor, 2017) - Reported from French Polynesia to Austral Islands west of Cook Islands and the Line Islands.
Pseudojuloides pyrius (Randall & Randall, 1981) - Reported from Marquesas Islands.
Pseudojuloides xanthomos (Randall & Randall, 1981) - Reported from Southwestern Indian Ocean: Mauritius (Mascarenes endemic).
Last update: 11, July 2022
Labre splendide, Splendid pencil wrasse,
Description
Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 12 all soft dorsal- and anal-fin segmented rays branched, last split to base; Pectoral fin rays: 13, the first rudimentary, the second usually unbranched; Pelvic fin rays I,5; Principal caudal fin rays: 14, the upper and lower unbranched; Upper and lower procurrent caudal-fin rays: 6; Pored lateral line scales: 27 (+1 on caudal-fin base); Gill rakers, including rudiments: 14-17. Body elongate (all measurements on types over 70 mm SL), the depth: 4.2 (4.0-4.3) in SL, and moderately compressed, the width: 1.9 (1.8-2.4) in depth. Max. length: 12.0 cm TL. Depth range: 2 - 61 m, usually: 21 - 45 m.
Color
Female Initial phase: orangish to reddish to pink, grading to whitish ventrally, snout yellowish and/or bluish, often with a dark spot at midline tip, no dark mark at front of dorsal fin, median fins yellowish.
Terminal phase male: greenish upper body, bluish lower body, variably tan-pink along dorsal midline, distinctive mid-lateral blue stripe over yellow stripe along side of body; Head green above, blue below, with two blue stripes behind eye extending across operculum, snout with a dark to tan band on anterior dorsal midline overlying a blue band and then a green band in front of eye; No dark mark at front of dorsal fin; Caudal fin slightly rounded to truncate, with prominent distal black semicircle.
Etymology
Pseudojuloides: from Greek, pseudes = false + from Greek, iouis = a fish without identification, perhaps some of genus Coris cited by Plinius + from Greek, oides = similar to.
splendens: from Latin, splendeō = shine, shining, glittering, gleaming, glistening, bright, brilliant. Named for the splendid color pattern of the terminale phase male.
Original description: Pseudojuloides splendens Victor, 2017 - Type locality: Pango, Efate, Vanuatu, –17.778°, 168.295°, G. Norton & staff, 1 September 2013.
Distribution
Tropical and sub-tropical western Pacific: southern Japan in the north, to New South Wales in Australia in the south, and in the Western Pacific island chains ranging from Maug Island in the Northern Mariana Islands south to Lord Howe Island, New Caledonia and eastward to Kwajalein Atoll in the north Pacific and to Samoa in the south Pacific.
Biology
Occurs in clear lagoon and seaward reefs; common over coral rubble with algal clumps or in areas dominated with live coral.
Similar species
Pseudojuloides cerasinus (Snyder, 1904) - Reported from Northern-central Pacific: Hawaiian Islands (U.S.A.) endemic.
Pseudojuloides kaleidos (Kuiter & Randall, 1995) - Reported from Indo-Pacific: Maldives and Andaman Sea to Indonesia (Sumatra to West Papua).
Pseudojuloides polackorum (Connell, Victor & Randall, 2015) - Reported from Western Indian Ocean: KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) and East Africa to northern Madagascar.
Pseudojuloides polynesica (Victor, 2017) - Reported from French Polynesia to Austral Islands west of Cook Islands and the Line Islands.
Pseudojuloides pyrius (Randall & Randall, 1981) - Reported from Marquesas Islands.
Pseudojuloides xanthomos (Randall & Randall, 1981) - Reported from Southwestern Indian Ocean: Mauritius (Mascarenes endemic).
Last update: 11, July 2022