Labropsis australis
Southern Tubelip
Similar Species
Distribution
Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Adults with dark head, white protruding lips, yellow or orange side with dark scale edges, orange patch at base of pectoral fin, rounded tail. Juveniles with black and white stripes along body, and a black tail with white trim. Adults suck in coral polyps with tubelips, juveniles clean other fishes of parasites.
Information
Max Size: 11 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 19.9-30.1°C
Depth: 2-55 m
Habitat Generalization Index: 8.02
Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.
Conservation and Rarity
IUCN Status: Least Concern
Occurrence: Frequent (18.1% of sites)
Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
Abundance: Few (3 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: Joe Shields