Pseudodax moluccanus
Chiseltooth Wrasse
Similar Species
Distribution
Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
White mouth with red and yellow lips, and blue lines extending down operculum below mouth. Juveniles differ from those of Labroides dimidiatus (common cleanerfish) by stouter body that is wider than the tail, and from Labrichthys unilineatus by wider blue stripes which don't continue onto tail.
Information
Max Size: 30 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 18.5-31.3°C
Depth: 3-60m
Habitat Generalization Index: 1.63
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: Infrequent (5.6% 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 (2 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: RD Stuart-Smith, GJ Edgar, AJ Green, IV Shaw. 2015. Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland