Oxycheilinus bimaculatus

Oxycheilinus bimaculatus, the two-spot wrasse, is a species of wrasse native to the Indo-Pacific.

Common names

The species is known under a variety of common English names including two-spot wrasse, comettailed wrasse, doublespot wrasse, and little Maori wrasse.

Description

The two-spot wrasse reaches lengths of about. Its body colouration varies from brown to yellow or green in spots or streaks. There is a small dark spot located behind each eye.

Distribution and habitat

The two-spot wrasse inhabits tropical and sub-tropical coastal waters in the Indo-Pacific from East Africa to Hawaiʻi, southern Japan, and Vanuatu, at depths of. The species has a benthic or bentho-pelagic habitat and frequents the outer slopes of reefs as well as lagoons and seagrass beds. It appears to be common in Hawaiʻian and Japanese waters, but more rare off Africa and in French Polynesia.