Humphead wrasse
Conservation status
Endangered
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Perciformes Family: Labridae Genus: Cheilinus Species: C. undulatus
Binomial name
Cheilinus undulatus Rüppell, 1835

The humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) is a wrasse that is mainly found in coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region. It is also known as the Maori wrasse, Napoleon wrasse, Napoleonfish; or "So Mei" 蘇眉 (Cantonese) and "Mameng" (Filipino). Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1600x1067, 477 KB) Species  Humphead Wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) Family  Labridae Melbourne Aquarium, File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Humphead wrasse Cheilinus ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future. ... The Siberian Tiger is a subspecies of tiger that are critically endangered. ... Scientific classification redirects here. ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Orders See text The Actinopterygii are the ray-finned fish. ... Families many, see text The Perciformes, also called the Percomorphi or Acanthopteri, include about 40% of all fish and are the largest order of vertebrates. ... Genera (60 genera) The wrasses are a family (family Labridae) of reef safe marine fish, many of which are brightly-colored and popular for aquaria. ... Species See text. ... Latin name redirects here. ... Genera (60 genera) The wrasses are a family (family Labridae) of reef safe marine fish, many of which are brightly-colored and popular for aquaria. ... Some of the biodiversity of a coral reef, in this case the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. ... Te Puni, Māori Chief Māori is the name of the indigenous people of New Zealand, and their language. ...

Description

The humphead wrasse is the largest living member of the family Labridae, with males reaching 6 feet (2 m) in length, while females rarely exceed about 3 feet (1 m). It has thick, fleshy lips and a hump that forms on its head above the eyes, becoming more prominent as the fish ages. Males range from a bright electric blue to green, a purplish blue, or a relatively dull blue/green. Juveniles and females are red-orange above, and red-orange to white below. Some males grow very large, with one unconfirmed report of a Humphead Wrasse that was 7.75 feet (2.29 m) long and weighed 420 lbs (190.5 kg). Genera (60 genera) The wrasses are a family (family Labridae) of reef safe marine fish, many of which are brightly-colored and popular for aquaria. ...

Ecology

Adults are confined to steep coral reef slopes, channel slopes, and lagoon reefs in water 3 to 330 feet (1-100 m) deep. They primarily eat mollusks, fishes, sea urchins, crustaceans, and other invertebrates and are one of the few predators of toxic animals such as sea hares, boxfishes, and crown-of-thorns star fish. This species actively selects branching hard and soft corals and seagrasses at settlement. Juveniles tend to prefer a more cryptic existence in areas of dense branching corals, bushy macroalgae or seagrasses, while larger individuals and adults prefer to occupy limited home ranges in more open habitat on the edges of reefs, channels, and reef passes. The species is most often observed in solitary male-female pairs, or groups of two to seven individuals. Some of the biodiversity of a coral reef, in this case the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. ... Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1758) The crown-of-thorns seastar (Acanthaster planci) is a seastar with thorn-like spines sprouting all over its body for protection. ... Seaweed-covered rocks in the UK Biologists, specifically marine biologists, consider seaweed to be any of a large number of marine benthic algae that are multicellular, macrothallic, and thus differentiated from most algae that tend to be microscopic in size [1]. Many phycologists prefer the term marine macroalgae over seaweeds... Seagrass from the coast of Florida Sea grass (or sea-grass in British English) are flowering plants from four plant families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae, and Cymodoceaceae) that grow in the marine saline environment. ...

Reproduction

Individuals become sexually mature at 5 to 7 years and can live at least 30 years. This fish also changes sex from female to male over time. The factors that control the timing of sex change are not yet known. Adults move to a local spawning aggregation site where they concentrate to spawn at certain times of the year.

Conservation

The humphead wrasse is long lived, but has a very slow breeding rate. its numbers have declined due to a number of threats. Threats include: 1) intensive and species-specific removal in the live reef food fish trade; 2) spearfishing at night with SCUBA gear; 3) destructive fishing techniques, including sodium cyanide and dynamite; 4) habitat loss and degradation; 5) juveniles being taken from the wild and raised or “cultured” in floating net cages until saleable size; 6) a developing export market for juvenile humphead wrasse for the marine aquarium trade; 7) lack of coordinated, consistent national and regional management; and 8) illegal, unregulated, or unreported (IUU) fisheries. // Spearfisherman hunting dog-tooth tuna in the Ryu-Kyu Islands Dutch fishermen using tridents in the 17th century Night spear fishing, Amazon basin, Peru. ...

These threats have made it an endangered animal according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, as it is not being replaced fast enough to compensate for the excess fishing rate and other threats. Its flesh is in high demand in eastern Asia, selling at over a hundred American dollars per kilogram. The World Conservation Union or International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ...

The humphead wrasse is a U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service Species of Concern. Species of Concern are those species about which the U.S. Government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, has some concerns regarding status and threats, but for which insufficient information is available to indicate a need to list the species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

American Samoa banned the use of spear-fishing with SCUBA gear in 2001 after declines in grouper and wrasse populations coincided with the advent of commercial harvest in 1994. In 2003 the Government of Samoa banned spearfishing with SCUBA gear except for scientific purposes, however, a ministerial intervention was subsequently made to allow spearfishers then participating in the fishery to continue their activities using SCUBA gear. All U.S. Pacific territories require licenses to export marine fishery products, and American Samoa requires that export ventures are locally owned. The waters surrounding Wake Island, Johnston Atoll, and Palmyra Atoll from the shoreline out to 50 fathoms are protected as a low-use Marine Protected Area, which means that any person of the United States fishing for, taking, or retaining coral reef ecosystem management species must have a special permit. Also, humphead wrasse may not be taken by means of spearfishing with SCUBA gear at night (from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.) in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone waters around Wake Island, Johnston Atoll, or Palmyra Atoll. Wake Island is also fully protected by the U.S. Department of Defense. In 1996 Palau developed conservation areas for the species and over time juveniles have begun to make a comeback. The management of these species in Palau also includes a total ban on export and a minimum size limit of 25 inches total length. Also, during the summer of 2006 the Government of Palau placed a temporary total moratorium on fishing for this species. As of April 2007, this moratorium is still in effect. Australia instituted total protection in May 1998 because stocks were determined to be insufficient and susceptible to overfishing. In December 2003, Australia prohibited all take and possession of humphead wrasse, other than for limited educational purposes and public display. In Guangzhou province, southern mainland China, permits are required for the sale of this species; Indonesia allows fishing only for research, mariculture, and licensed artisanal fishing; the Maldives instituted an export ban in 1995; Papua New Guinea prohibits export of fish over 2 feet (65 cm) Total Length; and Niue has banned all fishing for this species. The term Marine Protected Area is often used as an umbrella term covering a wide range of marine areas with some level of restriction to protect living, non-living, cultural, and/or historic resources. ... Sea areas in international rights Under the law of the sea, an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is a seazone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources. ...

See also

• bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum)

References

• Russell (2004). Cheilinus undulatus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 10 May 2006.
• Cheilinus undulatus (TSN 170619). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 24 January 2006.
• "Cheilinus undulatus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. January 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
• The Red Sea (1995) Eds. Bonechi ISBN 88-8029-301-X

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species and can be found here. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ... The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) is a partnership designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the taxonomy of biological species. ... is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... FishBase is a comprehensive database of information about fish. ...

External links

Wikispecies has information related to:

Cheilinus undulatus

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Cheilinus undulatus

• Biological information on the above fish
• A site dedicated to Humphead wrasse
• WWF site
• The Humphead Wrasse is a Threatened Reef Fish