A long pale wrasse ringed in narrow dark bands, working open bottom at speed. Fifty centimeters (20 in), and the larger of the two ringwrasses here.
The two are separated by shade and by depth rather than by shape: this one is pale, pinkish or greenish, and works shallow flats from a meter down; the ring wrasse is dark green and starts deeper. Both are built as cigars and both swim with the tail rather than rowing with the fins.
Juveniles are white with three orange stripes and swim in small groups, which adults never do - a large ringwrasse is always alone.
It hunts small fish and crustaceans over sand, covering ground rather than searching one patch, and disappears into the bottom at dusk. On a flat with nothing on it, the long pale fish moving in a straight line is this.
The genus. Hologymnosus Lacepède 1801 - holos (whole or entire) + gymnosus (bare or naked). ETYFish
The species. Hologymnosus doliatus (Lacepède 1801) - barred. ETYFish
- long slender body, pale pink to greenish with narrow dark rings
- males with a broad pale saddle behind the head
- juveniles white with three orange stripes
- length up to 50 cm
Why it's threatened
There are no major threats known for this species, although it is captured in local subsistance fisheries in the Pacific and is collected for the aquarium trade.
Threat classification from the IUCN Red List.
