Clown coris

Clown coris
Juvenile
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Labridae
Genus:	Coris
Species:	C. aygula
Binomial name
Coris aygula Lacépède, 1801
Synonyms
Several, see text

The clown coris (Coris aygula) is a species of wrasse native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.

Description

This species can reach a total length of 120 cm (47 in). A marked difference in appearance is noted between juveniles and adults; juveniles are white and orange with false eyes on the dorsal fin, while adults are uniformly dark green or with light banding and developing a prominent forehead.^[2]

Habitat

C. aygula is an inhabitant of coral reefs where they prefer areas of sand or rubble at depths from 2 to 30 m (6.6 to 98.4 ft). They are generally solitary as adults, while juveniles can often be found in tide pools.^[2]

Distribution

This species can be found from the Red Sea and the African coast eastward to the Line Islands and Ducie Island and from southern Japan to Lord Howe Island.^[2]

Synonyms

These specific names have been determined to be junior synonyms of C. aygula:^[2]

• Coris angulata Lacépède, 1801
• Labrus cingulum Lacépède, 1801
• Hemicoris cingulum (Lacépède, 1801)
• Julis cingulum (Lacépède, 1801)
• Labrus aureomaculatus J. W. Bennett, 1830
• Julis ruppelii E. T. Bennett, 1831
• Julis gibbifrons Quoy & Gaimard, 1834
• Julis semipunctatus Rüppell, 1835
• Julis coris Valenciennes, 1839
• Coris cyanea J. W. Macleay, 1883
• Coris variegata E. P. Ramsay & J. D. Ogilby, 1887
• Coris imbris S. Tanaka (I), 1918

References

1. Choat, J.H. & Pollard, D. 2010. Coris aygula. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.1. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 05 November 2013.
2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2013). "Coris aygula" in FishBase. August 2013 version.