Reef Fish
Oriental Sweetlips
Plectorhinchus vittatus · Bony fish, family Haemulidae (grunts and sweetlips)
Adult oriental sweetlips have perfected standing still in public. Schools of a few dozen hover in tight formation under table corals and overhangs through the day, thick lips and painted stripes all facing the current, barely finning: an arrangement photographers structure whole dives around, especially in the Maldives. They disperse at night to root crustaceans and worms out of the sand. The juveniles seem like a different animal entirely: blotched brown-and-white clowns that swim in exaggerated, flopping loops, a performance widely interpreted as mimicry of toxic flatworms, advertising unpalatability before the fish has size on its side. Day schools tolerate a slow, level approach to within a body length; rush them and the formation dissolves over the reef edge. The family name is earned: disturbed fish grunt audibly by grinding pharyngeal teeth.
Di mana dan kapan melihatnya
"Resident" berarti sebagian besar penyelaman di destinasi tersebut akan menjumpai mereka; "seasonal" berarti kehadirannya dapat diandalkan pada bulan-bulan yang tercantum; selain itu adalah bonus, bukan rencana.
| Destinasi | Keandalan | Bulan | Catatan |
|---|---|---|---|
| North & South Malé AtollsMaldives | Resident: seen on most dives | Sepanjang tahun | |
| Sipadan & MabulMalaysia | Resident: seen on most dives | Sepanjang tahun | |
| Ari AtollMaldives | Resident: seen on most dives | Sepanjang tahun | |
| Similan Islands & Richelieu RockThailand | Resident: seen on most dives | Sepanjang tahun | |
| Zanzibar & MnembaTanzania | Resident: seen on most dives | Sepanjang tahun |
Bulan terbaik, sekilas pandang
Memahaminya
Habitat: Clear lagoon and seaward reefs, schooling by day under table corals, overhangs, and bommie shadows.
Sebaran: Indian Ocean and western Pacific, from East Africa and the Maldives to Indonesia, Micronesia, and Samoa.
Perilaku: Day-resting schools hold tight formation facing the current, dispersing after dark to feed; boldly patterned juveniles swim in exaggerated flopping loops widely read as flatworm mimicry.
Diet: Crustaceans, worms, and other invertebrates rooted from sand and rubble at night.
Ukuran: biasanya sekitar 0.4 m; terdokumentasi hingga 0.6 m (total length).
Cara berperilaku di sekitarnya
Approach a resting school slow and level from down-current; rushing the formation scatters it and costs every diver behind you the sight.
Konservasi
Taken in local fisheries across parts of the range; day-schooling behavior makes populations easy to deplete where spearfishing is common.
Situs-situs terdata yang dikenal dengan hal itu
Lokasi yang disorot dipetakan untuk spesies ini oleh editor kami; angka-angkanya adalah catatan kemunculan GBIF yang dicatat dalam radius sekitar 5 km dari suatu lokasi sejak 1990.
Tonton
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