Clown Coris

C. bulbifrons uses body coloration to signal either members of their own species or other species. This would not be possible without the extreme clarity of reef water. This subject is somewhat controversial, but the colors may be a warning signal or camouflauge against the reef.

(Lowe-McConnell 1987)

Communication Channels: visual

Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern

Large C. bulbifrons males change color and form as they develop. Juveniles start out with white coloration. There are orange or red colored spots on the back. Each dorsal fin has a large black spot. They eventually become a dark-green color, with less variation in color over the body. The first dorsal spine becomes elongated and a hump on the forehead becomes apparent.

(Westneat, 2002; Randall, 1990)

C. bulbifrons is a valuable and popular aquarium species. They are also considered to be a game fish.

(Randall, 1990, Westneat, 2002)

Positive Impacts: pet trade ; food

C. bulbifrons is eaten by large piscivores which also eat small fish-feeders, detritus-feeders, coral-feeders, and midwater piscivores. Therefore, C. bulbifrons helps to sustain the large piscivore population inhabiting reefs. C. bulbifrons also help to control the populations of those reef invertebrates at lower trophic levels. In turn, they allow the species that these animals feed on to survive.

(Lowe-McConnell, 1987; Randall, 1990)

C. bulbifrons eat shelled mollusks, hermit crabs, other crabs, and sea urchins.

(Randall 1990)

Animal Foods: mollusks; aquatic crustaceans

Primary Diet: carnivore (Eats non-insect arthropods, Molluscivore )

Coris bulbifrons, the clown wrasse, is found primarily near Eastern Africa and Southern Asia. More specifically, they occupy areas near Comores, Madagascar, Cargados Carajos/St. Brandon’s Shoals, Aldabra, Sychelles, Maldives, as well as from the Chagos Archipelago to the Ducie Islands. They are also found in the area up to and including Southern Japan, Ryukyu, the Bonin and Ogawawara Islands, and South to the Lord Howe and Rapa Islands.

(Fricke, 1999; Shirai, 1986)

Biogeographic Regions: oriental (Native ); ethiopian (Native )

C. bulbifrons is a marine reef-associated fish, inhabiting rocky reef and coral areas. It lives in depth from 2 to 30 meters. It is tropical fish requiring a temperature between 24 and 28 degrees Celsius.

(Westneat, 2002; Randall, 1990)

Range depth: 2 to 30 m.

Habitat Regions: tropical ; saltwater or marine

Aquatic Biomes: reef

C. bulbifrons has 9 dorsal spines, between 12 and 13 dorsal soft rays, 3 anal spines, 14 pectoral rays, and 12 anal soft rays. The first two spines lie closer together than others. They also have between 59 and 67 lateral line scales. Males and females are slightly different. Males develop a hump on the forehead. The caudal fin of the famale is slightly more rounded than that of the male. Also, males have very long pelvic fins. Females have a white-colored streak in front of the anal fin. They also have light yellow or green coloring on the body with small, maroon spots and scales with dark edges, while males are blue-green in color. Onmales there are often broad, pale, green bars along the middle of the body. Juveniles have an extremely different appearance than adults. They are white and have black spots on each dorsal fin. They also have 2 circular orange/red spots on their back.

(Westneat, 2002; Shirai, 1986; Randall, 1990)

Range length: 120 (high) cm.

Other Physical Features: bilateral symmetry ; polymorphic

C. bulbifrons is brightly colored, which may camoflauge it among the bright colors of its natural reef habitat.

(Lowe-McConnell 1987)

Known Predators:

• sharks (Chondrichthyes)
• groupers (Serranidae)
• snappers (Lutjanidae)
• jacks and pompanos (Carangidae)
• barracudas (Sphyraena)

When spawning, wrasses gather in loose aggregations where one dominant male oversees many females within a general territory. If the dominant male dies then usually the largest female will transform into the resident male.

(Thresher 1984)

C. bulbifrons is a member of the wrasse family. Members of this family are protogynous hermaphrodites. This means that most members of the population begin life as females and some transform and function as males later. The differences between the primary males (born male) and secondary males (born female) are evident in the structure of the gonads, which are located in the upper sides of the abdominal cavity between the viscera and the coelomic wall. In primary males, the gonads are elongate, white, and solid with a small, tubular sperm duct extending posteriorly. This sperm duct extends to the urogenital opening. In secondary males, the gonads are hollow, short, thick, and yellowish because the gonads began as ovaries and later developed into testes. The secondary male testes have a large central space referred to as the lumen. The lumen has a ring of lobe-like projections around it. These are the ovarian lamellae. In females, when the eggs are ripe, they burst free from the lamellae and enter the lumen. They are then expelled through the urogenital opening.

Members of the wrasse family spawn along the outer edge of a reef patch. In more extensive reef complexes, fish will spawn along the outer slope.

(Thresher 1984)

Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; sequential hermaphrodite (Protogynous ); sexual ; fertilization (External ); oviparous

Parental Investment: no parental involvement

Oviparous, with distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205).

Bacterial Infections (general). Bacterial diseases

Camallanus Disease. Parasitic infestations (protozoa, worms, etc.)

Caudal fin slightly rounded in females, truncate and with filamentous rays in large males; pelvic fins of males very long. Large males also become uniformly dark-green and develop a gibbus forehead and an elongate first dorsal spine (Ref. 1602). Juveniles distinct with the false eyes, shaded by orange (Ref. 48636).

Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12 - 13; Analspines: 3; Analsoft rays: 12

Occurs inshore (Ref. 75154).

Occurs in the vicinity of sand or rubble patches of exposed outer reef flats, lagoon reefs, and seaward reefs (Ref. 1602), often in semi-exposed surge zones (Ref. 48636). Adults solitary. Juveniles common in shallow tide pools (Ref. 30573). Feeds mainly on hard-shelled invertebrates including crustaceans, mollusks and sea urchins (Ref. 9823). Minimum depth reported from Ref. 27115. Randall (1999, Ref. 33411) question identity of specimens exceeding 70 cm.

fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: commercial; price category: very high; price reliability: very questionable: based on ex-vessel price for species in this family

分布於印度-太平洋區，由紅海及東非到萊恩、杜夕群島，北至日本琉球與台灣海域，南至羅得豪及拉帕等。台灣除西部外，各地海域皆有分布。

中大型之隆頭魚，數量不多，台灣各地的礁岸區偶而能發現紅喉盔魚。小魚鮮明的體色具觀賞價值，大魚較少經濟價值，但具食用性，可紅燒、清蒸。

體延長而側扁；成魚頭部眼上方具一肉峰。上下頜突出，各具 2個犬齒；下頜往後側而漸小。D. VIII-IX, 12-13；A. III, 12；L.l. 61-66；背鰭連續，成魚第I-II棘延長；成魚腹鰭延長成絲狀；成魚尾鰭截形而軟條延長而成梳狀，幼魚為圓形。側線在背鰭後部下方陡向下；頰部、鰓蓋與下頜無鱗。體色隨成長而異，成魚體呈墨綠色具紅紋，頭、體背與鰭皆具紅點；鰓蓋膜具一黑斑；幼魚白色，頭與體前側散布黑點；背鰭、臀鰭及尾鰭亦為白色，且散布黑點；背鰭前後另具2個大眼斑，而體背就在背鰭眼斑的下方各另具一大紅斑。

主要棲息於溫暖的珊瑚礁區，從潮間帶到深約３０公尺的水域都能見到它。成魚是個獨行狹，喜愛在珊瑚平台外緣的砂地或小石子地、向海礁區潟湖及岩礁區等巡游、覓食，晚上則鑽入砂中睡個飽。小魚則只在平坦珊瑚礁或潟湖底部活動。因為有著尖尖犬齒，所以愛吃有硬殼的無脊椎動物，如海膽、小貝、小蝦。生性害羞，受到驚嚇時，會鑽入砂中躲藏。

The clown coris (Coris aygula), also known as the clown wrasse, false clownwrasse, humphead wrasse, hump-headed wrasse, red-blotched rainbowfish or twinspot wrasse, is a species of wrasse native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.

Lives in the vicinity of sand or rubble patches of exposed outer reef flats, lagoon reefs, and seaward reefs (Ref. 1602). Juveniles are common in shallow coral reefs and lagoons. Solitary when adults. Feeds mainly on hard-shelled invertebrates including crustaceans, molluscs and sea urchins (Ref. 9823).