Species: Halichoeres radiatus, Puddingwife, Puddingwife Wrasse

Halichoeres radiatus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Puddingwife, Puddingwife Wrasse

Elongate, compressed; mouth protrusible, opens at front, thick lips; rear of top jawbone not visible on cheek; toothed grinding plates in throat; enlarged canine teeth at front of both jaws (1 pair above, 2 pairs below), a canine at rear of top jaws; gill rakers 21-23; gill membranes fused under throat; dorsal fin IX, 11, not obviously notched between spiny and soft parts; anal fin III, 12; lateral line unbroken, but abruptly bent down under rear of dorsal fin, its tubes branched, except those on tail base, with 26-29 pored scales.

Juvenile: Orange-yellow; a blue-grey stripe from under eye to end of tail base, 5 blue-grey bars on body above that stripe; a large black and grey ocellus on dorsal fin at junction of spines and rays, extends onto upper body; an ocellus on end of upper tail base; larger fish yellow-brown; blue-grey lines radiating from eye, a blue-grey stripe from mouth; body scales with oval blue-grey spots; 2 large black elongate blotches on rear of upper back, front blotch with white bars on either side. Initial phase: orange-brown head and body with a blue-grey overlay; scales with blue-grey spots; 5 white blotches along upper back between nape and end of tail base; fins yellow-brown with blue lines and spots. Terminal phase: brownish with strong blue-grey cast; head with many blue lines radiating from eye; scales with blue spots; several whitish saddles along back and sometimes a diffuse white bar from top to bottom of body just behind pectoral fin; fins with many blue lines and spots.

Reaches 51 cm.

Lives on reefs.

Depth range: 1-55 m.

N Carolina to Brazil. It also has a brazilian sister species, H. brasiliensis.