The Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse - 941 Words

Labroides phthirophagus Randall 1958, otherwise commonly known as the Hawaiian cleaner wrasse, Royal cleaner wrasse or Louse-eating wrasse. The Hawaiian cleaner wrasse is a small fish with an elongated, slender, compressiform body type. It has a tapered head and pointed snout with large lips, used for aiding in feeding. It is a labriform median paired fin swimmer and has a homocercal caudal fin. The Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse swims with quick and flowing dance like movements. According to Spencer Wilkie Tinker, author of â€Å"Fishes of Hawaii† the average length of an adult Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse is 3.5 inches, with the maximum length being from 4-5 inches. (S.W. Tinker 1978). The Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse are similar to other cleaner wrasse species. One characteristic that sets the Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse apart from other species is its vibrant coloration. Adults have a bright neon yellow color along the anterior portion of their body, and neon purple/indigo on the posterior end. A black stripe runs horizontally through their eye from head to tail. The coloration of juveniles are slightly different. Juveniles are black with a neon purple stripe along the dorsal portion of the body. Its bright neon coloration is a poster color to advertise its cleaning services to other fish species. L. phthirophagus is endemic to Hawaii which means it can only be found exclusively in the waters near Hawaii. Although the population distribution of L. phthirophagus is only found near Hawaii, it is