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Blue-throated Wrasse
Notolabrus tetricus (Richardson, 1840)
A male Blue-throated Wrasse at a depth of 10 m, north-west Kangaroo Island, South Australia, December 2003. View larger image. Photo: Erik Schögl.
A male Blue-throated Wrasse at a depth of 8 m, north-west Kangaroo Island, South Australia, December 2003. View larger image. Photo: Erik Schögl.
A Blue-throated Wrasse at a depth of 6 m, Rapid Bay Jetty, South Australia, December 2003. View larger image. Photo: Erik Schögl.
A Blue-throated Wrasse at a depth of 3 m, Rapid Bay Jetty, South Australia, December 2003. View larger image. Photo: Erik Schögl.
The Blue-throated Wrasse can be recognised by its colouration. Juveniles and females are greenish to reddish with a dusky bar behind the pectoral fin. The body scales have pale centres. Males are brown to bluish-grey, with a white band across the body below the soft portion of the dorsal fin. The head is grey, the chin and throat are blue and the lips are yellow.
It grows to 50 cm in length.
This species occurs on rocky reefs. Juveniles are found in shallow weed habitats in bays and estuaries. Adults are usually seen on deeper rocky reefs to depths of about 40 m but have been trawled from water down to 160 m.
It occurs from the central coast of New South Wales south to Tasmania and west to the western coast of South Australia.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
The Blue-throated Wrasse is also known as the Bluehead, Bluehead Parrotfish, Bluenose, Bluenose Parrotfish, Kelpie, Lilac Banded Parrotfish, Rocky Bream, Rocky Cod, Rotfish and Winter Bream.
Related links
- Purple Wrasse fact sheet
- Crimson-banded Wrasse fact sheet
- View the family Labridae list
- View the Wrasse list
Further reading
- Edgar, G.J. 1997. Australian Marine Life: the plants and animals of temperate waters. Reed Books. Pp. 544.
- Gomon, M.F. & B.C. Russell in Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. State Print, Adelaide. Pp. 992.
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
- Shepherd, S.A. & J.B. Brook. 2003. Encounter 2002 expedition to the Isles of St Francis, South Australia: reef fishes. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia. 127(2): 269-279.
