Macropharyngodon ornatus, Male, WA, Australia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Macropharyngodon ornatus, Bali, Indonesia, Photo: Ian Shaw
Macropharyngodon ornatus, Male, and female. North WA, Australia, Photo: Andrew Green
Macropharyngodon ornatus, Juvenile, Murion Is, WA, Photo: Andrew Green
Distribution
Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Reddish head, dark brown to black body with green spots aligned in rows along sides, green lines on head and a black spot at front of dorsal fin. Black spot at front of dorsal fin is lacking in M. meleagris (Leopard Wrasse) which has a small yellow and black mark on upper operculum when most similar as an adult male.
Information
Max Size: 13 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 21.4-31.3°C
Depth: 2-30 m
Habitat: Coral Reef, Rocky Reef
Habitat Generalisation Index: 14.3
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
Rarity
IUCN Threat Status: Least Concern
Occurrence: Frequent (13% 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.
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