Surge Wrasse, Thalassoma purpureum (Forsskål 1775)
A terminal phase (male) Surge Wrasse, Thalassoma purpureum, at Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. Source: John Turnbull / Flickr. License: CC BY Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike
A colourful wrasse often seen in the surge zone on reef flats and reef margins.
Females are greenish with a dark red V-shaped marking on the snout. Males are greenish-blue with two reddish stripes along the sides and a large blunt greenish-blue head with pinkish-purple markings.
Very similar to the Ladder Wrasse, Thalassoma trilobatum.
Surge Wrasse, Thalassoma purpureum (Forsskål 1775)
More Info
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Distribution |
Rottnest Island to the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia, Cartier Island, Timor Sea, and the northern Great Barrier Reef, and reefs in the Coral Sea, to Sydney, New South Wales; also Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean, and Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere, the species is widespread and relatively common in the Indo-Pacific, from East Africa and the Red Sea to the Eastern Pacific, including northern New Zealand. Usually inhabits the surge zone on outer reef flats and reef margins on coral and rocky reefs. |
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Features |
Dorsal fin VIII, 12-14; Anal fin II, 10-12. |
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Feeding |
Feeds upon small fishes and invertebrates including crabs, sea urchins, brittle stars, molluscs and polychaete worms. |
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Biology |
A protogynous hermaphrodite, capable of changing sex from female to male during the life cycle. Usually occurs in groups with a dominant male, and several females and juveniles. |
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Fisheries |
Occasionally collected for the aquarium industry. |
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Similar Species |
Very similar to the Ladder Wrasse, Thalassoma trilobatum. Females of both species are almost identical, differing slightly in head length and coloration. The Surge Wrasse has a slightly longer head, with a V-shaped mark on the snout. Female Ladder Wrasse have spotted head and lack the 'V-shaped' mark. Male Surge Wrasse have a greenish to bluish head with a pinkish mark above the upper lip, and the snout mostly pinkish to purplish. Male T. trilobatum have a plain brownish to orange or bluish head. |
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Etymology |
The specific name is from the Latin purpureum (= purple) in reference to the purplish markings on the mostly greenish body of males (terminal phase). |
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Species Citation |
Scarus purpureus Forsskål, 1775, Descriptiones animalium: 27. Type locality: Red Sea. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2020 |
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Resources |
Surge Wrasse, Thalassoma purpureum (Forsskål 1775)
References
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