Speckled Wrasse, Anampses meleagrides Valenciennes 1840

Other Names: Dotted Wrasse, Marble Wrasse, Spotted Tamarin Wrasse, Spotted Wrasse, Yellow Tail Tamarin, Yellowtail Wrasse

A female Speckled Wrasse, Anampses meleagrides, in the Ningaloo Marine Park, Western Australia, 2 August 2015. Source: John Turnbull / Flickr. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Summary:

Females are very dark brown with very pale yellow spots extending onto the dorsal and anal fins, and a bright yellow tail. Males are deep violet with irregular blue spots and lines on the head, blue spots or vertical dashes on the scales, and blue ocelli on the tail.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2017, Anampses meleagrides in Fishes of Australia, accessed 19 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/1222

Speckled Wrasse, Anampses meleagrides Valenciennes 1840

More Info

Distribution	Jurien Bay to Rowley Shoals, Western Australia, Ashmore Reef, Timor Sea, and the northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, to at least the Solitary Islands, New South Wales; also Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean. Elsewhere the species is widespread in much of the Indo-west-central Pacific, from the Red Sea and East Africa to the Tuamotu Islands in the east, north to southern Japan, and south to northern Australia. Adults inhabit areas of mixed coral, rubble, and sand on seaward reefs; also soft coral and sponge habitats.
Features	Dorsal fin IX, 11-13; Anal fin III, 11-13. Caudal fin of adults truncate to emarginate; rounded in small juveniles.
Similar Species	Underwater, Anampses meleagrides is easily confused with male A. geographicus, unless A. meleagrides is displaying the iridescent blue-green lines and spots over the body and fins.
Species Citation	Anampses meleagrides Valenciennes in Cuvier & Valenciennes 1840, Hist. Nat. Poiss. 14: 12. Type locality: Mauritius.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2017
Resources	Australian Faunal Directory

Speckled Wrasse, Anampses meleagrides Valenciennes 1840

References

Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls.

Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.

Allen, G.R. & Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 1994. Fishes of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 412: 21 pp.

Allen, G.R. & Steene, R.C. 1979. The Fishes of Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Aust. Natl. Parks Wldlf. Ser. Spec. Publ. 2. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service 81 pp. 15 pls.

Allen, G.R. & Steene, R.C. 1988. Fishes of Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Christmas Island Natural History Association, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, 6798, Australia. 197 pp.

Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls.

Hanel, R., Westneat, M.W. & Sturmbauer, C. 2002. Phylogenetic relationships, evolution of broodcare behavior, and geographic speciation in the wrasse Tribe Labrini. J. Molec. Evol. 55: 776-789.

Kuiter, R.H. 1992. Tropical Reef-Fishes of the Western Pacific, Indonesia and Adjacent Waters. Jakarta : PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama 314 pp. pls.

Kuiter, R.H. & Tonozuka, T. 2001. Pictorial guide to Indonesian reef fishes. Part 2. Fusiliers - Dragonets, Caesionidae - Callionymidae. Australia : Zoonetics pp. 304-622.

Randall, J.E. 1972. A revision of the labrid fish genus Anampses. Micronesica 8(1-2): 151-190.

Randall, J.E. 2005. Reef and shore fishes of the South Pacific. New Caledonia to Tahiti and the Pitcairn Islands. Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press 707 pp.

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs.

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs.

Pollard, D. 2010. Anampses meleagrides. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010: e.T187723A8612954. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T187723A8612954.en. Downloaded on 14 January 2017.

Valenciennes, A. in Cuvier, G.L. & Valenciennes, A. 1840. Histoire Naturelle des Poissons. Paris : Levrault Vol. 14 464 pp. pls 389-420.