Teleostei (teleosts) >
Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) >
Labridae (Wrasses) > Corinae
Etymology: Stethojulis: Greek, stetho, stethion = brest; literal = to prick a little breast + Greek, ioulis, a fish dealing with genera Coris or Thalassoma (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Bleeker.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 30 m (Ref. 9311). Tropical; 32°N - 32°S, 92°E - 89°W
Indo-Pacific: eastern Indian Ocean to western Australia, including the Christmas Island, Cocos-Keeling and the Andaman Sea; then from Japan to New South Wales, Australia. Eastern Pacific: offshore islands in the eastern Pacific, including Clipperton, Cocos and the Galapagos islands (Ref. 36378). Range extends to Baja California during El Niño (Victor, pers. comm.). Replaced by Stethojulis albovittata in the western Indian Ocean and Stethojulis balteata in the Hawaiian Islands (Ref. 37816).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 15.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 30874); 8.0 cm TL (female)
Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11 - 12; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 11. 1st spine of the anal fin is minute or imbedded (Ref. 1602).Terminal males typically have a series of partial to complete longitudinal thin blue lines on their sides (Ref. 1602). Females mainly bluish grey with fine white spotting over upper sides and a small red spot at axil of pectoral fin (Ref. 48636).
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal; Cross section: compressed.
Usually found in shallow clear water of reef flats and lagoon and seaward reefs, in areas of mixed sand, rubble and coral (Ref. 9710, 58534). Usually solitary or in small groups (Ref. 9311). Feeds mainly on demersal planktonic crustaceans and small benthic invertebrates. Female length is from Ref. 9137. Replaced by S. albovittatus in the Andaman Sea (Ref. 90102). Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 128797.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205).
Randall, J.E., 2000. Revision of the Indo-Pacific labrid fishes of the genus Stethojulis, with descriptions of two new species. Indo-Pac. Fish. (31):42 p. (Ref. 36378)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: commercial
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 24.5 - 29.3, mean 28.4 °C (based on 2292 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5010 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01000 (0.00559 - 0.01790), b=3.00 (2.85 - 3.15), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.2 ±0.2 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
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Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 90.1 [53.3, 149.7] mg/100g; Iron = 0.741 [0.435, 1.371] mg/100g; Protein = 18.4 [15.5, 20.5] %; Omega3 = 0.152 [0.098, 0.236] g/100g; Selenium = 24 [15, 42] μg/100g; VitaminA = 137 [43, 504] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.82 [1.27, 2.91] mg/100g (wet weight);
