Jim Greenfield, Großbritannien
Info
Sweetlips are a subfamily of the grunts (Haemulidae) and are easily recognizable by their distinctly large lips.
Plectorhinchus albovittatus, also known in German as the two-colored sweetlips (see the photos of juvenile specimens) or giant sweetlips, lives in clear lagoons and offshore reefs, while juvenile specimens seek shelter and grow up in brackish water habitats or shallow, murky coastal areas.
Adult giant sweetlips are generally solitary; occasionally, pairs can also be found in deep reefs or around seamounts. For reproduction, however, large aggregations of sweetlips gather in the waters around Palau during the new moon in April or May.
Although many hungry predators await the mass-fertilized spawn there, enough fish larvae survive to develop, so that the Red List has not yet had to assess the threatened species Plectorhinchus albovittatus separately.
Adult fish are predominantly gray with white spots; the spiny rays of the dorsal fin are yellow, the front half of the soft fin is broad and black, the pelvic and anal fins are black, and the caudal fin is dotted with small and large black spots. The lips of this sweetlips are very thick.
Synonyms:
Diagramma albovittatum Rüppell, 1838
Diagramma giganteum Günther, 1879
Gaterin albovittatus (Ruppell, 1838)
Gaterin harrawayi Smith, 1952 (synonym)
Plectorinchus albovittatus (Rüppell, 1838)
Plectorhinchus albovittatus, also known in German as the two-colored sweetlips (see the photos of juvenile specimens) or giant sweetlips, lives in clear lagoons and offshore reefs, while juvenile specimens seek shelter and grow up in brackish water habitats or shallow, murky coastal areas.
Adult giant sweetlips are generally solitary; occasionally, pairs can also be found in deep reefs or around seamounts. For reproduction, however, large aggregations of sweetlips gather in the waters around Palau during the new moon in April or May.
Although many hungry predators await the mass-fertilized spawn there, enough fish larvae survive to develop, so that the Red List has not yet had to assess the threatened species Plectorhinchus albovittatus separately.
Adult fish are predominantly gray with white spots; the spiny rays of the dorsal fin are yellow, the front half of the soft fin is broad and black, the pelvic and anal fins are black, and the caudal fin is dotted with small and large black spots. The lips of this sweetlips are very thick.
Synonyms:
Diagramma albovittatum Rüppell, 1838
Diagramma giganteum Günther, 1879
Gaterin albovittatus (Ruppell, 1838)
Gaterin harrawayi Smith, 1952 (synonym)
Plectorinchus albovittatus (Rüppell, 1838)
