Eastern King Wrasse, Coris sandeyeri (Hector, 1884)

ANIMAL SPECIES:Eastern King Wrasse, Coris sandeyeri (Hector, 1884)

The Eastern King Wrasse has very small scales and a distinctive colour pattern. It 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.

Size range

The Eastern King Wrasse grows to 45 cm in length.

Similar Species

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.

Distribution

The species is occurs from Broughton Island, New South Wales to eastern Victoria.

Distribution by collection data

Biomaps map of Eastern King Wrasse specimens in the Australian Museum collection.

What does this mean?

Habitat

It is usually seen at depths between 20 m and 40 m near weed-covered reefs.

Classification

Species:: sandeyeri
Genus:: Coris
Family:: Labridae
Order:: Perciformes
Class:: Actinopterygii
Subphylum:: Vertebrata
Phylum:: Chordata
Kingdom:: Animalia

What does this mean?

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.

Mark McGrouther , Collection Manager, Ichthyology
Last Updated: 9 June 2011

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