Plectorhinchus

Plectorhinchus
Temporal range: 23–0 Ma Miocene to Present
Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Division: Teleostei
Order: Acanthuriformes
Family: Haemulidae
Subfamily: Plectorhinchinae
Genus: Plectorhinchus
Lacépède, 1801
Type species
Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides
Lacépède, 1801
Synonyms
List
    • Euelatichthys Fowler, 1904
    • Gaterin Forsskål, 1775
    • Leitectus Smith, 1952
    • Pluchus Smith, 1949
    • Pseudohelotes Guimarães, 1882
    • Pseudopristipoma Sauvage, 1880
    • Spilotichthys Fowler, 1904

Plectorhinchus is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, sweetlips belonging to the subfamily Plectorhinchinae which is one of two subfamilies in the family Haemulidae which also includes the grunts. The species in this genus are found in fresh, brackish, and salt waters.

Taxonomy

The genus Plectorhinchus is paraphyletic as the genus Diagramma is nested deeply within it.

Description and characteristics

These fish have big, fleshy lips and tend to live on coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific in small groups or pairs. They will often associate with other fishes of similar species; several species of sweetlips sometimes swim together. They are usually seen in clusters in nooks and crannies or under overhangs. At nightfall, they venture from their shelters to seek out their bottom-dwelling invertebrate prey, such as bristleworms, shrimps, and small crabs.

Sweetlips colouring and patterning changes throughout their lives. For example, Plectorhinchus polytaenia develops more stripes with age. Juvenile sweetlips generally look quite different from the adults, and often live solitary lives on shallower reef sections. Juveniles may be banded or spotted and are usually a completely different colour from the adults of their species. Small juveniles have an undulating swimming pattern, possibly mimicking poisonous flatworms as a means of predator avoidance.

Species

These are the currently recognized species in this genus:

Species Common name
Plectorhinchus albovittatus

(Rüppell, 1838)

 Giant sweetlips
Plectorhinchus caeruleonothus

J. W. Johnson & Worthington Wilmer, 2015

 Blue bastard
Plectorhinchus ceylonensis

(J. L. B. Smith, 1956)

 Sri Lanka sweetlips
Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides

Lacépède, 1801

 Harlequin sweetlips
Plectorhinchus chrysotaenia

(Bleeker, 1855)

 Yellow-striped sweetlips
Plectorhinchus chubbi

(Regan, 1919)

 Dusky rubberlip
Plectorhinchus cinctus

(Temminck & Schlegel, 1843)

 Crescent sweetlips
Plectorhinchus diagrammus

(Linnaeus, 1758)

 Striped sweetlips
Plectorhinchus faetela

(Forsskål, 1775)
Plectorhinchus flavomaculatus

(G. Cuvier, 1830)

 Lemonfish
Plectorhinchus gaterinus

(Forsskål, 1775)

 Blackspotted rubberlip
Plectorhinchus gibbosus

(Lacépède, 1802)

 Harry hotlips
Plectorhinchus griseus

(G. Cuvier, 1830)
Plectorhinchus lessonii

(G. Cuvier, 1830)

 Lesson's thicklip
Plectorhinchus lineata

(Linnaeus, 1758)

 Yellowbanded sweetlips
Plectorhinchus macrolepis

(Boulenger, 1899)

 Biglip grunt
Plectorhinchus macrospilus

Satapoomin & J. E. Randall, 2000

 Largespot sweetlips
Plectorhinchus makranensis

Damadi, Moghaddam,
Ghassemzadeh, Ghanbarifardi

 Oman sweetlips
Plectorhinchus mediterraneus

(Guichenot, 1850)

 Rubberlip grunt
Plectorhinchus multivittatus

(W. J. Macleay, 1878)

 Many-lined sweetlips
Plectorhinchus paulayi

Steindachner, 1895

 Zebra sweetlips
Plectorhinchus pictus

(Tortonese, 1936)

 Trout sweetlips
Plectorhinchus pica

(G. Cuvier, 1828)

 Painted sweetlips
Plectorhinchus plagiodesmus

Fowler, 1935

 Barred rubberlip
Plectorhinchus playfairi

(Pellegrin, 1914)

 Whitebarred rubberlip
Plectorhinchus polytaenia

(Bleeker, 1853)

 Ribboned sweetlips
Plectorhinchus schotaf

(Forsskål, 1775)

 Minstrel sweetlips
Plectorhinchus sordidus

(Klunzinger, 1870)

 Sordid rubberlip
Plectorhinchus umbrinus

(Klunzinger, 1870)
Plectorhinchus unicolor

(W. J. Macleay, 1883)

 Sombre sweetlips
Plectorhinchus vittatus

(Linnaeus, 1758)

 Oriental sweetlips

References

  1. ↑ Sepkoski, J. (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560.
  2. ↑ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Plectorhinchus". FishBase. February 2021 version.
  3. 1 2 Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Haemulidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  4. ↑ Damadi, Ehsan; Moghaddam, Faezeh Yazdani; Ghanbarifardi, Mehdi (2023-02-23). "Species delimitation, molecular phylogeny and historical biogeography of the sweetlips fish (Perciformes, Haemulidae)". Zoosystematics and Evolution. 99 (1). Pensoft Publishers: 135–147. doi:10.3897/zse.99.96386. ISSN 1860-0743.
  5. ↑ Debelius, H. Asia Pacific Reef Guide. 2001. ISBN 3-925919-56-2
  6. ↑ Debelius, H. Indian Ocean Reef Guide. 2001. ISBN 978-3-931702-67-0
  7. 1 2 3 Johnson, J.W.; Worthington Wilmer, J. (2015). "Plectorhinchus caeruleonothus, a new species of sweetlips (Perciformes: Haemulidae) from northern Australia and the resurrection of P. unicolor (Macleay, 1883), species previously confused with P. schotaf (Forsskål, 1775)". Zootaxa. 3985 (4): 491–522. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3985.4.2. PMID 26250161.
  8. ↑ Damadi E, Moghaddam FY, Ghassemzadeh F, Ghanbarifardi M (2020) Plectorhinchus makranensis (Teleostei, Haemulidae), a new species of sweetlips from the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. ZooKeys 980: 141-154. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.980.50934
  9. ↑ "Oman Sweetlips (Plectorhinchus makranensis)". iNaturalist Canada. Retrieved 2023-05-13.