Disappearing Wrasse

The striated wrasse is a small species of wrasse with an overall reddish colour with 24 fine longitudinal white lines on its body and sometimes showing 5-6 dark horizontal bars. There is a blue streak below the eye and the gill cover has dark margins. It can grow to 9 cm (3.5 in) in total length. The males and females show similar colourations and patterns but females tend to be less intensely coloured. The striated wrasse shows red fluorescence with the fluorescence being on the bony scales and fin rays.

The striated wrasse has a wide distribution in the Indian Ocean and in the Western Pacific Ocean from Africa to Hawaii. In the western Indian Ocean its range extends from the Red Sea off Jordan to South Africa, and it has been recorded from the Seychelles, Aldabra, Réunion, Mozambique and Pemba in Tanzania. In the Pacific Ocean it is found from the Izu Islands in Japan in the north and from Australia to Hawaii in the east and the Marquesas Islands in the south.