Gomphosus caeruleus
Birdfish | Bird Wrasse | Blue Clubnosed Wrasse | Blue Green Bird Wrasse | Green Birdmouth Wrasse | Indian Ocean Bird Wrasse
Similar Species
Same Genus
Distribution
Temperate Africa, Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Dark wrasse with extended 'beak-like' snout, male with pale blue margin along pectoral fin, and lime green dorsal and anal fin; female with pale lower head and breast, dark stripe through eye, and yellow anal and tail fin. Juveniles pale with dark streak from snout through eye onto body. Differs from similar G. varius (Birdnose Wrasse) differs by location, and by bright green streak on side in males, lack of yellow tail in females, and green back in juveniles.
Information
Max Size: 30 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 22.6-33°C
Depth: 1-35 m
Habitat Generalization Index: 6.2
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: Common (29.6% 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 (4 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: Joe Shields