Harlequin sweetlips

Harlequin sweetlips
Conservation status
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Haemulidae
Genus:	Plectorhinchus
Species:	P. chaetodonoides
Binomial name
Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides Lacépède, 1801
Synonyms
Gaterin chaetodonoides (Lacépède, 1801)

Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides, the harlequin sweetlips, is a species of grunt native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. It is a denizen of coral reefs found at depths of from 1 to 30 m (3.3 to 98.4 ft). It can reach 72 cm (28 in) in TL. The heaviest known individual weighed 7 kg (15 lb). This species is of minor importance to local commercial fisheries and can be found in the aquarium trade.^[1]

Juvenile harlequin sweetlips mimic the movement of poisonous flatworms.

Juveniles are brown with large white blotches and mimic the movement of a poisonous flatworm for defence against predators. They gain more spots and the spots reverse from white to black as they age.

References

1. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2013). "Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides" in FishBase. August 2013 version.