Thalassoma lunare (Linnaeus, 1758) is a animal in the Labridae family, order Perciformes, kingdom Animalia. Not known to be toxic.

Photo of Thalassoma lunare (Linnaeus, 1758) (Thalassoma lunare (Linnaeus, 1758))
🦋 Animalia

Thalassoma lunare (Linnaeus, 1758)

Thalassoma lunare (Linnaeus, 1758)

Thalassoma lunare is a fish with distinct age-based appearance changes, named for its mature yellow crescent marking.

Family
Genus
Thalassoma
Order
Perciformes
Class

About Thalassoma lunare (Linnaeus, 1758)

This species, scientifically named Thalassoma lunare (Linnaeus, 1758), has distinct appearance changes as it matures. Juveniles have a blue lower body half, a black spot in the center of the dorsal fin, and a black blotch at the base of the caudal fin. As the fish matures, the original black spot on the dorsal fin develops into a yellow crescent shape, which is where the species gets its common name. Mature adults have green bodies with prominently marked scales. Their head coloration ranges from blue to magenta, and displays a broken checkerboard pattern.

Photo: (c) Glen Whisson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Glen Whisson · cc-by-nc

Taxonomy

Animalia Chordata Perciformes Labridae Thalassoma

More from Labridae

Sources: GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia, NCBI Taxonomy · Disclaimer

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