Scientific Name
Oxycheilinus orientalis
Common Name
Oriental maori wrasse
Biology
Dorsal
spines
(total): 9;
Dorsal
soft rays
(total): 10;
Anal
spines: 3;
Anal
soft rays: 8;
Vertebrae: 23. Color of large adults red in life; body usually with 5 indistinct narrow pale bars that may contain white flecks, and 2 faint pale stripes along side; irregular bright red vertical lines on edges of scales anteriorly on midside and lower part of body, along with red dots; head with white to pale blue-green transverse lines on side of lower jaw, widest near front of chin; side of snout and head below eye with small dark-edged white to pale blue-green spots; iris orange-yellow with a blue ring, hind edge of eye black with a bright blue-green spot above (shows when eye directed forward); a blackish smudge on 2nd and 3rd lateral-line scales may be present (not related to sex); dorsal and anal fins light orange-red with oblique red lines and dark-edged white to blue lines or rows of dashes or small spots, the dorsal sometimes blackish on 1st membrane, rarely with a broa