RESEARCH ARTICLE
Review of the Indo-Pacific labrid
fish genus Hemigymnus
John E. Randall
Abstract
The
labrid fish genus Hemigymnus Günther consists
of three relatively large coral-reef species: the
wide-ranging Indo-Pacific H. fasciatus (Bloch)
and H. melapterus (Bloch), and H. sexfasciatus
(Rüppell) of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, usually
regarded as a synonym of H. fasciatus. It is
treated here as a species, distinguished by color
pattern, longer pelvic fins of the terminal male,
and fewer gill rakers. These three fishes are generally
found as solitary individuals over sand or sand-and-rubble
substrata adjacent to sheltered coral reefs within
the depth range of 1-30 m. Their principal mode
of feeding consists of taking a mouthful of sand and
detritus, releasing sand from the gill opening as
they swim from the bottom, sorting the fossorial prey
within the mouth and pharynx, and ejecting the larger
inorganic fragments from the mouth. They also feed
opportunistically on larger benthic prey. A maximum
total length of 90 cm has been claimed for H. melapterus,
but the largest specimen reliably reported is only
37 cm long. No specimens of H. fasciatus are
known that are larger than 30 cm, and the largest
H. sexfasciatus measures 36.5 cm in total length.
A key, literature survey, table of gill-raker counts,
and color photographs are provided for the three species.
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CITATION:
Randall, J.E. (2013) Review
of the Indo-Pacific labrid fish genus Hemigymnus.
Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation, 6,
2-18.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1035950
publication date: 28 February
2013
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