Green Moon Wrasse, Thalassoma lutescens (Lay & Bennett 1839)

Other Names: Blue-fin Wrasse, Parrotfish, Sunset Wrasse, Yellow Moon Wrasse, Yellow-brown Wrasse, Yellow-green Wrasse

A male Green Moon Wrasse, Thalassoma lutescens, at the Algal Holes, Lord Howe Island. Source: Graham Edgar / Reef Life Survey. License: CC By Attribution

Summary:

A common reef fish that is capable of changing sex from female to male.

Juveniles - greenish above with a black stripe from behind the eye to the tail base; lower half of body white with a yellowish stripe from chin to the lower part of the caudal peduncle

Initial phase - body overall yellow with wavy orange to reddish lines on head and a reddish-orange vertical mark on each scale, appearing as fine vertical lines on body

Terminal phase - head and body to behind pectoral-fin base with broad reddish-orange wavy lines; rest of body abruptly greenish to bluish.

Pectoral fins yellow with blue tips

Dorsal and anal fins with a reddish-orange stripe along base

Caudal fin with a reddish-orange submarginal stripe near upper and lower margins.

Cite this page as:

Dianne J. Bray, Thalassoma lutescens in Fishes of Australia, accessed 18 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/287

Green Moon Wrasse, Thalassoma lutescens (Lay & Bennett 1839)

More Info

Distribution	Known in Australian waters from Rottnest Island to about Broome, Western Australia, and from Cape York, Queensland, to about Port Macquarie, New South Wales; also in the Coral Sea, at Christmas and Cocos (Keeling) islands, Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs, and Lord Howe and Norfolk islands. Elsewhere, widespread in the Indo-Pacific, from about Sri Lanka to Rapa, including the Kermadec Islands, New Zealand. The Green Moon Wrasse inhabits outer lagoon and seawards reefs amongst rich coral, and sandy and rubble areas - including shallow exposed reefs.
Features	Meristic features: Dorsal fin VII, 13-14 Anal fin III, 11
Feeding	Carnivore - feeds mostly on benthic invertebrates such as crabs, shrimps, gastropod molluscs, brittle stars, sea urchins and polychaete worms. Also feeds on demersal fins eggs.
Conservation	IUCN: Least Concern EPBC Act: Not listed
Remarks	Very common at Lord Howe Island.
Species Citation	Julis lutescens Lay & Bennett 1839, Zool. Capt. Beechey's Voy.: 65.Type locality (lectotype): Tahiti.
Author	Dianne J. Bray

Green Moon Wrasse, Thalassoma lutescens (Lay & Bennett 1839)

References

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

Allen, G.R. & Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 1994. Fishes of Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 412: 1-21

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.

Allen, G.R., N.J. Cross, C.J. Allen & M.F. Gomon 2006. Labridae: Labrinae. pp. 1368-1418 in Beesley, P.L. & Wells, A. (eds). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Volume 35 Australia : ABRS & CSIRO Publishing Parts 1-3, 2178 pp.

Allen, G.R., Steene, R.C. & Orchard, M. 2007. Fishes of Christmas Island. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 2 edn, 284 pp.

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Kuiter, R.H. 1997. Guide to sea fishes of Australia. A comprehensive reference for divers and fishermen. Frenchs Forest, NSW, Australia : New Holland Publishers I-xvii, 434 pp.

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Oxley, W.G., Ayling, A.M., Cheal, A.J. & Osborne, K. 2004. Marine surveys undertaken in the Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine National Nature Reserve, December 2003. Townsville : Australian Institute of Marine Sciences 64 pp.

Parenti, P. & Randall, J.E. 2000. An annotated checklist of the species of the labroid fish families Labridae and Scaridae. Ichthyological Bulletin of the J.L.B. Smith Institute, Grahamstown 68: 1-97

Randall, J.E. 2003. Thalassoma nigrofasciatum, a new species of labrid fish from the south-west Pacific. Aqua, Journal of Ichthyology and Aquatic Biology 7(1): 1-8

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.

Westneat, M.W. 2001. Labridae. pp. 3381-3467 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 6 pp. 3381-4218.