Teleostei (teleosts) >
Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) >
Labridae (Wrasses) > Xyrichtyinae
Etymology: Xyrichtys: Greek, xyreo = that cuts like a knife + Greek, ichthys = fish (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Valenciennes.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 2 - 21 m (Ref. 7251). Subtropical
Western Atlantic: southern Florida, USA and Bahamas to northern South America.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 15.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251)
Females light greenish gray, becoming pinkish ventrally, with diffuse orange-red stripe from behind eye to base of caudal fin; a broad white area over abdomen, the lower part with vertical lines of red; there may be faint red bars on the body. Large adult males lose the distinctive red, white and black markings; they develop a vertically elongate blue spot on each body scale; a yellow head with near-vertical pale blue bands, and a large dark spot in axil of pectoral fins (Ref. 13442).
Most common in open sandy areas. Feeds on small sand-dwelling invertebrates. Dives head first into the sand when frightened. Generally common (Ref. 9710). Generally of no interest to fisheries because of its small average size (Ref. 5217).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray, 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p. (Ref. 7251)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 25.1 - 28.2, mean 27.4 °C (based on 619 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5005 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00661 (0.00269 - 0.01622), b=3.05 (2.84 - 3.26), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.5 ±0.37 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 65.3 [27.2, 142.0] mg/100g; Iron = 0.678 [0.355, 1.489] mg/100g; Protein = 18.7 [15.8, 21.0] %; Omega3 = 0.147 [0.074, 0.285] g/100g; Selenium = 11.4 [4.8, 27.1] μg/100g; VitaminA = 85.4 [22.3, 426.5] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.19 [0.69, 2.13] mg/100g (wet weight);
