#Thalassoma

[herpsandbirds]

Surge Wrasse (Thalassoma purpureum), family Labridae, order Labriformes, Lord Howe Island, Australia

 These fish are protogynous hermaphrodites. They all hatch out as females, and turn into males later in life.

photograph by Jordan Robins 

[faunalregion]

[i-give-you-a-fish]

may i please have a colorful little guy :3

Just look at this little dood

You get a Bluehead Wrasse

Thalassoma bifasciatum

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Once in a Blue Moon: The Bluehead Wrasse

The bluehead wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum) is a small species of wrasse found only in the western Atlantic Ocean; particularly around the Caribbean and the northern coast of South America. They inhabit coral reefs, and occasionally along sandy bottoms and sea grass meadows. Bluehead wrasse prefer shallow, warm, clear water and reefs with lots of hiding places that they can easily access.

T. bifasciatum is noted for its bright coloration. Females and small males are bright yellow with a white underbelly, while larger males have a greenish body and a blue head, seperated by thick black and white stripes. These large males are typically 7-8 cm (2.7-3.1 in) in length, while smaller males and females are around 6 cm (2.3 in).

Like many coral reef fish species, the bluehead wrasse engages in protogyny. All eggs hatch as females, and as they mature some change into males. These young males, known as initial phase (IP) males, continue to resemble females but are fully capable of reproduction. Eventually, the largest of them transition into a secondary phase, also known as the terminal phase (TP). TP males carry the characteristic blue and green markings of bluehead wrasse, and are significantly larger. The transition from female to IP, IP to TP, or even directly from female to TP can occur at any time, and is particularly triggered by removal of dominant (TP) males from a population.

Reproduction typically occurs from January to August, though it can continue sporadically throughout the year. Mature adults participate in group spawns, in which females and both male types converge at spawning sites. Males compete for proximity to females, and typically TP males will closely guard access to a harem of 30-50 females, while IP males will attempt to use their coloring to sneak in and mate surreptitiously. T. bifasciatum are broadcast spawners; both sexes release their gametes into the water column, where they are fertilized and carried away by the current.

Eggs spend 6-8 months free floating, sometimes drifting miles from their spawning grounds. After hatching into juveniles (larvae), they burrow into the sand and remain there for several months before emerging to seek out a coral reef in which to shelter. At this point, a year after hatching, they are typically mature and ready to mate themselves. Individuals can live up to 3 years in the wild, though juvenile mortality is high.

Bluehead wrasse are cleaner fish. The majority of their food are parasites picked off of larger fish, as well as shrimp, krill, crustaceans, and plankton gathered from the coral itself. However, they are also often food themselves for larger fish, moray eels, and stingrays.

Conservation status: The IUCN considers the bluehead wrasse to be Least Concern. Their primary threat is habitat loss due to coral reef bleaching.

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Photos

Doug Perrine

Terence Zahner

Nick Hobgood

[mizzswizz]

🐠 - Fishuary!!

day 3 - wrasse

blue headed wrasse / thalassoma bifasciatum

@fish-daily

[dailymarinefish]

day 61, 24/03/24 - fish of the day is the bluehead wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum)

[dragongutsixofficial]

POISSON D'AVRIL !!! Feligami except they're a girelle-paon (thalassoma pavo) and leafy sea dragon 💖💖💖💖💖💖

Poisson d’Avril! ❤️🐠

SWEETHEART I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

[herpsandbirds]

Moon Wrasse (Thalassoma lunare), family Labridae, Great Barrier Reef, Cairns, Australia

Like many wrasses, this species is a protogynous sequential hermaphrodite. They start off their lives as females, and become males when they get older.

photograph by Leonard Low 

[quasarlasar]

I’ve been having a lot of headaches due to all the time I have been spending on the screen during the pandemic. This has made it hard to do digital art.

Instead have a traditional drawing of a male ornate (or peacock) wrasse, Thalassoma pavo.

This was my favorite fish to encounter while snorkeling in Lebanon. In Arabic it is known as the “bridefish,” but its reproductive strategy is more unusual than that name suggests. A single male lives in a group with a harem of females, but all of the wrasse are born female. When the lead male dies, the dominant female transforms into a male to lead the shoal. This makes them sequential hermaphrodites. 

They are typically found over rocks that are covered in coralline algae and red, brown, and green seaweed, so their bright magenta, turquoise, and spring green colors don’t stand out as obviously as one might expect. They swim by flapping their pectoral fins, flitting about the rocks like butterflies. They sleep at night buried in the sand.

The female is similar in color to the male, but has brown patches and black spots in place of the male’s red-edged body scales.

[psikonauti]

Moon wrasse - Thalassoma lunare

[i-give-you-a-fish]

MAY I get a fish please!!! i love weird lookin thangs

Fish that was colored in by a first grader (affectionate)

You get a Sixbar Wrasse

Thalassoma hardwicke

[terranlifeform]

Sunset wrasse (Thalassoma lutescens) terminal phase male off the coast of Tahiti in French Polynesia

François Libert

[aticketplz]

顔の柄、二重のレイヤーを感じて素敵だ

日本語(ヤマブキベラ)も英語(Yellow-brown wrasse)も黄色さに焦点を当ててるけれど、この青もいいじゃんねと思います

@すみだ水族館

[hsketches]

Mermay: Thalassoma robertsoni

[cool-critters]

Klunzinger´s wrasse (Thalassoma rueppellii)

Klunzinger's wrasse is a species of wrasse endemic to the Red Sea. It inhabits the margins and seaward slopes of reefs at depths from 1 to 30 m. It can reach 20 cm in total length.

photo credits: Derek Keats