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Cheeklined Maori Wrasse
Oxycheilinus digrammus (Lacepède, 1801)
Above and below: A Cheeklined Maori Wrasse at a depth of 10 m, Charlie's Reef, west of Castaway Resort, Mamanuca Islands, Fiji, April 2004. View larger image.
A Cheeklined Maori Wrasse at a depth of 10 m, Mantis Reef, Wreck Bay, far northern Great Barrier Reef, December 1999. View larger image.
A Cheeklined Maori Wrasse at a depth of 8 m, Charlie's Reef, west of Castaway Resort, Mamanuca Islands, Fiji, April 2004. View larger image.
The Cheeklined Maori Wrasse can be recognised by its colouration. It is grey-brown to green or red with an orange-red to pinkish mark on each scale. There are orange to pink lines above the eye and about eight purplish to pink lines crossing the cheek.
This species grows to 30 cm in length.
It occurs in tropical marine waters of the Indo-Pacific.
In Australia it is known from the offshore islands of north-western Australia and from the entire length of the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
The Cheeklined Maori Wrasse is also known as the Violetline Maori Wrasse and Violet-lined Maori Wrasse.
Further reading
- Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
- Myers, R.F. 1999. Micronesian Reef Fishes. Coral Graphics. Pp. 330.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
- Westneat, M.W., 2001 Labridae. Wrasses (also, hogfishes, razorfishes, corises and tuskfishes) in Carpenter, K.E. & V.H. Niem (Eds). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 6. Bony Fishes part 4 (Labridae to Latimeriidae), estuarine crocodiles, sea turtles, sea snakes and marine mammals. FAO, Rome. Pp. iii-v, 3381-4218.
