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Species: Xyrichtys splendens, Green Razorfish, Green Razorfish Wrasse

All Families:   All Genera:   All Species:

forehead not steep
IP - pink-grey, body scales - dark edges; head pale bars
TP - head blue + orange bars, body green, flank 1-2 black & blue ocelli
juv - pale + 4 long brown bars

Xyrichtys splendens Castelnau, 1855

Green Razorfish, Green Razorfish Wrasse

Head and body oblong, strongly compressed; head profile not very steep, snout forms a blunt point with a fleshy longitudinal keel at front; male with steeper head profile and deeper body than female; eye small, on upper ½ of head; mouth protrusible, opens at front, thick lips; rear of top jawbone not visible on cheek; toothed grinding plates in throat; both jaws with a pair of large canines at front, without rear canine tooth; 18-21 gill rakers; gill membranes fused under throat; dorsal fin IX (a slight gap after 1st 2 spines, which are long in juvenile), 12, not obviously notched between spiny and soft parts; anal fin III, 13; tail fin slightly rounded; pelvics pointed with long filaments in adult; lateral line in 2 sections, rear section on tail base, with 5 pored scales; no scales on cheek, opercle or lower jaw or on bases of dorsal and anal fins.

Juvenile: mottled yellowish brown; first two dorsal spines & pelvics dark brown; 3 brown bars on body that extend onto dorsal and anal fins, tail fin base dark brown. Female: pinkish grey, outlines of body scales dark; lower head with fine blue-white bars; iris red. Male: greenish, a vertically elongate blue spot on each scale; head bluish, with 4-5 thin orange bars on cheek; iris bright red; 1-2 black, blue-ringed spots on mid flank; dorsal reddish, anal bluish, tail fin orangish.

Size: 15 cm.

Habitat: benthic on sandy bottoms and seagrass beds.

Depth: 5-90 m.

Bermuda to Brazil.


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Salinity
  • Marine
  • Marine Only
Inshore/Offshore
  • Inshore
  • Inshore Only
Water Column Position
  • Bottom
Habitat
  • Sand & gravel
  • Sea anemones
  • Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
  • Soft bottom only
  • Submerged vegetation
  • Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
  • Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
FishBase Habitat
  • Demersal
  • Reef Associated
Feeding Group
  • Carnivore
  • Data
  • Planktivore
Diet
  • Data
  • Zooplankton
  • Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
  • Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
Egg Type
  • Data
  • Pelagic
  • Pelagic larva
Global Endemism
  • All species
  • Greater Caribbean non-endemic
  • West Atlantic Endemic
Regional Endemism
  • Also in Brazil
  • Continent
  • Continent + Island (s)
  • Continental primarily
  • Extends South of GC
  • GC non-endemic
  • Island (s)
  • All species
Residency
  • Resident
Climate Zone
  • Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
  • Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
  • Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
IUCN Red List
  • Least concern
  • Listed
CITES
  • Not listed
Length Max
  • 15
Depth Range Min
  • 5
Depth Range Max
  • 90