Notolabrus fucicola

Purple wrasse | Kelpie | Parrotfish
Notolabrus fucicola
Notolabrus fucicola, Port Davey, TAS, Photo: Graham Edgar
Notolabrus fucicola
Notolabrus fucicola, Eden, NSW, Photo: Andrew Green
Notolabrus fucicola
Notolabrus fucicola, Tasmania, Australia, Photo: Ian Shaw
Notolabrus fucicola
Notolabrus fucicola, Maria Island, TAS, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Notolabrus fucicola
Notolabrus fucicola, Freycinet Peninsula, TAS, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
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Notolabrus fucicola
Notolabrus fucicola
Notolabrus fucicola
Notolabrus fucicola
Notolabrus fucicola

Distribution

Temperate Australasia


Description

Base colour varies, but always with five pale/yellow patches along the back which usually extend onto the dorsal fin. Sometimes additional light patch on shoulder behind head and on upper tail base, and 2-3 light streaks on the anal fin. Juveniles highly variable in colour and extremely similar to juvenile N. tetricus (blue-throat wrasse), but lacking any dark vertical bars, and usually with red to orange outer eye.


Information

Max Size: 38 cm

Sea Temperature Range: 10.4-21.4°C

Depth: 1 - 90 m

Habitat Generalization Index: 27.05

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: Widespread (50.6% 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: GJ Edgar. 2008. Australian Marine Life. New Holland, Sydney