Claudia's Wrasse

Halichoeres claudia, the Christmas wrasse, is a species of wrasse of the family Labridae. It is widely distributed in the southwestern Pacific, occurring from French Polynesia to the Great Barrier Reef, with isolated populations in the Indian Ocean (Christmas Island and Cocos Keeling). This species was treated as Halichoeres ornatissimus for a long time, however, genetic evidence has shown that H. ornatissimus is restricted to Hawaii, while H. claudia is widespread in the western Pacific. The...