Thalassoma purpureum, Surge wrasse : fisheries, gamefish, aquarium

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Thalassoma purpureum (Forsskål, 1775)

Surge wrasse
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Thalassoma purpureum   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Thalassoma purpureum (Surge wrasse)
Thalassoma purpureum
Male picture by Hermosa, Jr., G.V.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) > Labridae (Wrasses) > Corinae
Etymology: Thalassoma: Greek, thalassa = the sea + Greek, soma = body; the colour of the sea (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Forsskål.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 10 m (Ref. 30573). Tropical; 32°N - 32°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Indo-Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa (Ref. 4392) to the Hawaiian, Marquesan, and Easter islands, north to southern Japan, south to Lord Howe, Kermadec, and Rapa islands. Southeast Atlantic: southeast coast of South Africa (Ref. 4392). Replaced by Thalassoma virens in the Revillagigedo Islands (Ref. 37816).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 46.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 30573); max. published weight: 1.2 kg (Ref. 40637)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 8; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12-14; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 10 - 12. T. purpureum and T. trilobatum have nearly identical initial phases (Ref. 1602). They differ slightly in details of the head markings, and T. purpureum has a slightly longer head, shorter pectoral fins, and attains a larger size (Ref. 1602, 48636). Females best distinguished by the 'V' mark on the snout (Ref. 48636). Initial phase with a vertical dark red line below front of eye usually with a branch to front of snout (Ref 9823).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found almost exclusively in the surge zone of outer reef flats, reef margins, and rocky coastlines, down to a depth of about 10 m (Ref. 5213). Benthopelagic (Ref. 58302). Occur in groups of females that are spread out over large reef sections and dominated by few males. Males grow much larger than females (Ref. 48636). Feed on small invertebrates (crabs, sea urchins, brittlestars, mollusks), small fishes, echinoids, ophiuroids and polychaetes (Ref. 37816). Protogynous (Ref. 55080).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Pelagic spawner.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Westneat, Mark | Collaborators

Randall, J.E., G.R. Allen and R.C. Steene, 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 506 p. (Ref. 2334)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 07 March 2009

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 24.6 - 29.3, mean 28.3 °C (based on 3134 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00955 (0.00430 - 0.02123), b=3.06 (2.89 - 3.23), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.8   ±0.0 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (36 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Very high.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 42.4 [25.2, 69.5] mg/100g; Iron = 0.532 [0.303, 0.984] mg/100g; Protein = 18.8 [15.9, 21.1] %; Omega3 = 0.118 [0.076, 0.185] g/100g; Selenium = 23.1 [13.7, 42.7] μg/100g; VitaminA = 105 [31, 372] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.25 [0.88, 1.92] mg/100g (wet weight);