Common Name: Sixbar Wrasse

Distribution: Uncommon in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific region: from East Africa to the Line and Tuamoto Islands, north to southern Japan south to Lord Howe and the Austral Islands. In Australia recorded from Exmouth in Western Australia, across the tropical north to Torres Strait, the Coral Sea and Great Barrier Reef in Queensland south to northern New South Wales and including Lord Howe Island and Middleton Reef.

Ecological Notes: Frequents shallow lagoons and seaward reefs, slopes and along drop-offs to moderate depths. Depth to 15 m.

Additional Notes: Greenish body with six dagger like dark bars along the sides, pinkish bars radiating from eye. Feeds on benthic and planktonic crustaceans, small fishes. Juvenile approximately 75 mm pictured top, grows to 20 cm.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.337.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=Thalassoma+hardwicke. Accessed 10/07/18.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/thalassoma-hardwicke.html. Accessed 10/07/18.