HAEMULIDAE


Plectorhinchus gibbosus, 20.5 cm SL
(photo by Seishi Kimura)


Plectorhinchus gibbosus
(Lacepède, 1802)
Harlequin Sweetlip

D XIII-XIV, 15-17; A III, 7-8; P1 16-18; P2 I, 5; LLp 46-55; GR 8-10 + 18-20.

Body deep, compressed. Lip fleshy, greatly swollen with age. Chin with six pores; no median pit; not covering barbels or papillae. Caudal fin rounded in juveniles, rounded to truncate in adults. Color: body dark gray. Centers of scales paler than edges. No distinct spots or blotches on fins. Size: maximum length about 75 cm. Distribution: widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific, from South Africa east to the Samoa Islands, and southern Japan south to New South Wales, Australia. Remarks: generally found in silty reef areas, young penetrating estuarine habitats. (Hiroyuki Motomura)