Common Name: Black Backed Wrasse

Distribution: Relatively common in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Known from areas of the west Pacific, southern Japan to Taiwan, New Caledonia. In Australia recorded from northern Queensland and the Coral Sea to southern New South Wales, including Lord Howe Island.

Ecological Notes: Prefers offshore habitat with rich coral growth, shallow coral reef and outer reef lagoons with patches of sand and rubble. Depth from 4-30m.

Additional Notes: Adult shown in top photograph, more commonly seen intermediate phase, with distinctive black above and white below, shown in bottom photograph. Adults occur in small loose groups of females, sometimes with male nearby. Solitary juveniles occur in corals. Constantly moving across the substrate, feeding on crustaceans and other small benthic invertebrates. Grows to 20cm.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.287.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. http://www.fishbase.org/summary/Anampses-neoguinaicus.html. Accessed 17/04/18.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=Anampses+neoguinaicus. Accessed 17/04/18.