Halichoeres claudia Randall & Rocha, 2009
Claudia's wrasse
photo by Randall, J.E.

Family:  Labridae (Wrasses), subfamily: Corinae
Max. size:  8.8 cm SL (male/unsexed); 5.6 cm SL (female)
Environment:  benthopelagic; marine; depth range 1 - 35 m
Distribution:  Pacific Ocean: from the Line Is. and islands of French Polynesia to the western Pacific. where it is reported from the Great Barrier Reef, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and Indonesia (from underwater photographs in Flores and Gunung Api in the Banda Sea. The species is also found in the eastern Indian Ocean at Christmas I., the Cocos-Keeling Is. (in addition to the paratypes from this locality, 1 nontype specimen is reported from the Western Australian Museum (WAM P.29064-002, 64 mm SL) and 2 from Cartier I. in the Timor Sea (Ref. 82288).
Diagnosis:   
Biology:  Found solitary usually on outer slopes of reefs 1-35 m deep. Formerly identified as H. ornatissimus which is restricted to Hawaiian Islands and Johnston Island (Ref. 90102).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 12 April 2009 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless
Country info:   
 


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