Choerodon


Choerodon is a genus of wrasses native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. They originated in the Miocene, when the Australian and Eurasian Plates collided. They are commonly referred to as tuskfish, because most species have sharp tusk-like teeth.

Taxonomy

The genus Choerodon is most closely related to the odacine wrasses. Both groups are part of the wrasse tribe Hypsigenyini. Choerodon is split into 6 subgenera. Molecular phylogenetic analysis has so far demonstrated the monophyly of the subgenera, although not all species in the genus have been evaluated.
Choerodon typus was traditionally placed within its own genus Xiphocheilus, but both morphological and molecular analyses now place it within Choerodon, with Xiphocheilus becoming its subgenus name instead.

Potential tool use in tuskfishes

, blue, graphic, and blackspot tuskfish have been recorded using large rocks or hard coral as "anvils", upon which they smash open hard-shelled prey items. All four species belong to the subgenus Choerodon, and can remember to use a particular rock or coral repeatedly for this purpose. This behaviour usually involves invertebrate prey such as clams and sea urchins, but on one occasion, a blue tuskfish was filmed smashing a young green sea turtle on an anvil. Anvil use is also documented in several other wrasse genera.

Species

The 27 currently recognized species in this genus are:
SubgenusSpeciesCommon nameImage
AspiurochilusChoerodon azurio
Azurio tuskfish
AspiurochilusChoerodon cypselurus
Gomon, 2017		swallowtail tuskfish
AspiurochilusChoerodon monostigma
J. D. Ogilby, 1910		dark-spot tuskfish
AspiurochilusChoerodon robustus
robust tuskfish
AspiurochilusChoerodon zamboangae
purple eyebrowed tuskfish
ChoerodonChoerodon anchorago
orange-dotted tuskfish
ChoerodonChoerodon cauteroma
M. F. Gomon & G. R. Allen, 1987		bluespotted tuskfish
ChoerodonChoerodon cephalotes
purple tuskfish
ChoerodonChoerodon cyanodus
blue tuskfish
ChoerodonChoerodon graphicus
graphic tuskfish
ChoerodonChoerodon oligacanthus
white-patch tuskfish
ChoerodonChoerodon rubescens
baldchin groper
ChoerodonChoerodon schoenleinii
blackspot tuskfish
ChoerodonChoerodon venustus
Venus tuskfish
LienardellaChoerodon fasciatus
harlequin tuskfish
LutjanilabrusChoerodon vitta
J. D. Ogilby, 1910		redstripe tuskfish
PeaolopseiaChoerodon albofasciatus
Gomon, 2017
PeaolopseiaChoerodon aurulentus
Gomon, 2017		gilded tuskfish
PeaolopseiaChoerodon frenatus
J. D. Ogilby, 1910		bridled tuskfish
PeaolopseiaChoerodon gomoni
G. R. Allen & J. E. Randall, 2002		Gomon's tuskfish
PeaolopseiaChoerodon gymnogenys
PeaolopseiaChoerodon jordani
Jordan's tuskfish
PeaolopseiaChoerodon margaritiferus
Fowler & B. A. Bean, 1928		pearly tuskfish
PeaolopseiaChoerodon skaiopygmaeus
Gomon, 2017
PeaolopseiaChoerodon sugillatum
M. F. Gomon, 1987		wedge-tailed tuskfish
PeaolopseiaChoerodon zosterophorus
Zoster wrasse
XiphocheilusChoerodon typus
Bleeker, 1856		blue-banded wrasse