Eastern King Wrasse, Coris sandeyeri (Hector, 1884)
King Wrasse, Sandager's Wrasse
The closely-related Western King Wrasse, Coris auricularis, is known from the Recherche Archipelago to Shark Bay, Western Australia. These two species can be separated by differences in colouration.
Click to enlarge image
© Malcolm Francis
Fast Facts
-
Classification
- Genus
- Coris
- Species
- sandeyeri
- Family
- Labridae
- Order
- Perciformes
- Class
- Actinopterygii
- Subphylum
- Vertebrata
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Kingdom
- Animalia
-
- Size Range
- The Eastern King Wrasse grows to 45 cm in length.
Introduction
The Eastern King Wrasse has very small scales and a distinctive colour pattern. It grows to about 45 cm in length and occurs from around Broughton Island, New South Wales to eastern Victoria.
Identification
The Eastern King Wrasse has very small scales and a distinctive colour pattern. Like many wrasses (Family Labridae) the colour pattern changes with growth.
Habitat
It is usually seen at depths between 20 m and 40 m near weed-covered reefs.
Distribution
The species is occurs from Broughton Island, New South Wales to eastern Victoria. It also occurs in Lord Howe Island and the Kermadec Islands, New Zealand.
The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums. Click on the map for detailed information. Source: Atlas of Living Australia.
References
- Gomon, M.F. & B.C. Russell in Gomon, M.F., C.J.M. Glover & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. State Print, Adelaide. Pp. 992.
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-Eastern Australia. Crawford House Press. Pp. 437.
