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Pink-belly Wrasse
Halichoeres margaritaceus (Valenciennes, 1838)
A female Pink-belly Wrasse at a depth of 13m, North Solitary Island, New South Wales, May 2002. View larger image.
The Pink-belly Wrasse can be recognised by its colouration. Females are brown-green to pinkish above and pale below. They have white blotches on the sides and a pink region on the rear of the abdomen. There is a black spot behind the eye and another on the upper "corner" of the operculum. The middle of the dorsal fin has a yellow or blue-rimmed ocellus.
Males are green with orange-red spots. They lack the white and red markings of females.
This species grows to 12.5cm in length.
It is known from tropical marine waters of the Central and Western Pacific.
In Australia it occurs off north-western Western Australia and from northern Queensland to coastal northern New South Wales.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
This species is also known as the Pearly Wrasse and the Saddled Rainbowfish. It can be distinguished from the similar-looking Nebulous Wrasse H.nebulosus (view fact sheet) by the shape of the band across the cheek. In the Pink-belly Wrasse the band rises posteriorly, but in the Nebulous Wrasse it descends posteriorly.
Further reading
- Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
- Allen, G.R. & R. Swainston. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 201.
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
