About Plectorhinchus vittatus (Linnaeus, 1758)
This species is commonly known as the Indian Ocean oriental sweetlips, with the scientific name Plectorhinchus vittatus (Linnaeus, 1758). This fish has fleshy lips that become greatly swollen as it ages. There are 6 pores on its chin, with no median pit present. Its dorsal fin has 12–14 spines and 16–20 soft rays, while its anal fin has 3 spines and 7–8 soft rays. Adult Indian Ocean oriental sweetlips have a base light grey body color that fades to white on the abdomen, with alternating black and white stripes. The black stripes are normally broader on the upper body, while the fins, snout and forehead are yellow. The dorsal, anal and caudal fins are marked with blackish spots. Subadults have wide stripes across their head, body and fins. Juveniles have joined black blotches and spots that slowly split into longitudinal stripes as the fish grows, and juvenile pectoral fins are black. This species reaches a maximum total length of 72 cm (28 in).
The Indian Ocean oriental sweetlips occurs in the Indo-Pacific region. Its range extends from East Africa (from Djibouti to South Africa), Madagascar, the Seychelles and the Mascarene Islands, through the Gulf of Mannar in India and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, east as far as Micronesia, Samoa, the Society Islands and Guam. It is also found across the area from Western Australia to Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia.
The Indian Ocean oriental sweetlips lives in shallow coastal coral reefs, lagoons and seaward reefs at depths between 2 m (6 ft 7 in) and 25 m (82 ft 0 in). It occurs either alone or in small aggregations, and is typically nocturnal. Juveniles may be found in tidepools and seagrass beds. It forages at night, feeding on small invertebrates including crustaceans, gastropods and annelids, as well as smaller fish. This is an oviparous species that spawns in distinct pairs.
