Common Name/s: Sidespot Pencil Wrasse
Maximum Adult Size: 7cm
Natural Distribution: Western Pacific: Philippines, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Recently recorded from Tonga
Depth Range: 25 – 45m
Species Notes & Captive Care Notes: This species is quite uncommon in the trade and is certainly one of the least encountered of the Pseudojuloides genus. In nature, it lives in relatively deep water over open rubble bottoms with small corals. Exhibiting the typical slender build of the genus, males are readily identified by the large black blotch on their flanks, which extends into the dorsal fin and is edged in blue. Their bodies are whitish ventrally, transitioning to greenish yellow dorsally, and this is overlaid with fine bluish scrawled lines. Females are hard to distinguish from females of other pencil wrasse species, being overall pale pinkish. Like other species in the genus, the sidespot wrasse can be prone to shipping damage, particularly the delicate mouthparts.
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