Oriental sweetlips
Plectorhinchus vittatus
Valid name. Plectorhinchus orientalis is a synonym still found in older dive guides.
- English
- Oriental sweetlips
- Scientific
- Plectorhinchus vittatus
- Dhivehi
- ކަނޑު ގުރުވަKandu guruva
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 72 cm SL (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives 55 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs, lagoons and seaward slopes, about 2 to 25 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2018
Description
A deep-bodied grunt with bold black and white horizontal stripes, a yellow face and lips, and yellow fins dotted with black spots. Juveniles look completely different, with large black-and-white blotches, and swim with an exaggerated wriggling motion that is thought to mimic a toxic flatworm. Adults shelter in small groups by day and spread out at night to feed on bottom-living crustaceans, worms and small fish. Sweetlips are named for their thick, fleshy lips.
In the Maldives
One of the most photographed reef fish in the Maldives; adults hang motionless in groups under overhangs and at cleaning stations on channel (kandu) reefs by day.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Plectorhinchus-vittatus.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=25706&GenusName=Plectorhinchus&Specie
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގައި_އުޅޭ_މަހުގެ_މަޢުލޫމާތު
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Bakoko_oriental_(Plectorhinchus_vittatus),_Anilao,_Filipina
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives, Marine Research Section, Malé (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) (Latin form); Thaana from Dhivehi Wikipedia (fish articles derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition) species list. FishBase also lists 'Kandu guruwa'.