Oxycheilinus mentalis
Oxycheilinus mentalis (mental wrasse) is a species of wrasse found in the Western Indian Ocean, in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.[2]
| Oxycheilinus mentalis | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Labriformes |
| Family: | Labridae |
| Genus: | Oxycheilinus |
| Species: | O. mentalis |
| Binomial name | |
| Oxycheilinus mentalis (Rüppell, 1828 ) | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
|
Cheilinus mentalis Rüppell, 1828 | |
It has been known to change its colouration to match species of non-predatory parrotfish and surgeonfish. It then swims with these harmless model species and predates upon passing fish. This is a form of aggressive mimicry.[3] Without a model fish, the mental wrasse has a reddish pink colour.
References
- Liu, M.; To, A. (2010). "Oxycheilinus mentalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T187735A8616212. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T187735A8616212.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Oxycheilinus mentalis" in FishBase. August 2019 version.
- Randall, J. E. (2005). A review of mimicry in marine fishes. Zoological Studies, 44(3), 299–328.
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