Lunatus Wrasse Phases

[huskerreef]

I was daydreaming and looking around the net at different wrasses and noticed a big variant in the colorations of the Lunatus wrasses. They seem to range from a very orange/yellow coloration to a very dark almost black color. I have read were they refered to one as it must be in the black phase. I was just curious if these colors are a regional thing or do they change into a different color as they mature getting more blackish coloration. Just curious.

 

[n8ureman]

In the may/June 2009 issue of ReefLife magazine, Hiroyuki Tanaka wrote an awesome article about the newest Fairy wrasses coming into the hobby at the time, and in it he mentions C. lunatus. According to the article, the specimens from Japan are "typically purplish to yellowish brown, with an outstanding bright-yellow band on the middle of the flank, while the unpaired fins are primarily purple." He then talks about a "Southern form" in which he describes these as having " an orange or brown to blackish body, a yellowish abdomen, and sometimes have a red area behind the eyes. One male from Sulawesi, Indonesia became black overall, execpt around the eyes, and it looked very similar to C. brunneus." This southern form seems come from Indonesia and the Philippines. Hope this helps!!:wavehand:

 

[small alien]

awesome avatar, n8ureman. gave me a much needed chuckle. thanks.