Banded Wrasse, Halichoeres notospilus
Banded Wrasse, Halichoeres notospilus, Juveniles. Underwater photographs taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, November 2018a and March 2019. Photographs courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.
Banded Wrasse, Halichoeres notospilus, Juvenile. Fish caught from shore at Km 21, Cabo Real, Baja California Sur, June 2015. Length: 10.5 cm (4.1 inches).
Banded Wrasse, Halichoeres notospilus, Initial Phase (IP), Females. Underwater photographs taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, November 2018, March 2019 and February 2023. Photographs courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.
Banded Wrasse, Halichoeres notospilus, Initial Phase (IP) Female. Fish caught from shore at Km 21, Cabo Real, Baja California Sur, April 2012. Length: 18.0 cm (7.1 inches).
Banded Wrasse, Halichoeres notospilus, Initial Phase (IP) Female Transitioning To Terminal Phase (TP) Male. Fish caught from shore at Km 21, Cabo Real, Baja California Sur, March 2013. Length: 18.0 cm (7.1 inches).
Banded Wrasse, Halichoeres notospilus, Terminal Phase (TP) Male. Fish caught from coastal waters off Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, February 2023. Length: 14 cm (5.5 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of Ben Cantrell, Peoria, Illinois.
Banded Wrasse, Halichoeres notospilus, Terminal Phase (TP) Male. Fish caught from shore at Km 21, Cabo Real, Baja California Sur, March 2018. Length: 25.3 cm (10.0 inches).
Banded Wrasse, Halichoeres notospilus, Terminal Phase (TP) Male. Fish caught from shore at Km 21, Cabo Real, Baja California Sur, January 2016. Length: 28.5 cm (11.2 inches). An interesting observation is that as these fish mature their body shapes change dramatically from “cigars,” with depths of approximately 28%, to flatten rectangles, with depths of approximately 41%.
The Banded Wrasse, Halichoeres notospilus, is a member of the Wrasse or Labridae Family, and is known in Mexico as señorita listada. Globally, there are seventy species in the genus Halichoeres, nineteen of which are found in Mexican waters, ten in the Atlantic and nine in the Pacific Ocean.
The Banded Wrasses have elongated compressed bodies with a depth that is 25 to 41% of standard length; more mature fish have wider bodies. An interesting observation is that as these fish mature their body shapes change dramatically from “cigars,” with depths of approximately 28%, to flatten rectangles, with depths of approximately 41%. They typically have a greenish-brown coloration with varying amounts of blue which creates a cross-hatching pattern. Females (Initial Phase) are dark green dorsally transitioning to light green ventrally with five or six alternating yellow and black patches along their upper back. Males (Terminal Phase) are dark green dorsally transitioning to light green ventrally with 7 or 8 black bars on the upper half of their body interspaced with narrow yellow bars. They have a black patch behind their pectoral fin and a rounded caudal fin with a reddish margin. Their fins are dark with the exception of the pectoral and pelvic fins which are transparent. They have 1 pair of canine teeth at the front of their upper jaw and 2 pairs at the front of their lower jaw. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 10 rays; their caudal fin is slightly rounded; their dorsal fin has 9 spines and 11 rays; and, their pectoral fins have 13 rays. They are covered with scales. Their lateral line is continuous and bends abruptly down at the rear of the dorsal fin.
The Banded Wrasses are coastal residents found within rocky shores exposed to surges from the intertidal zone at depths up to 9 m (30 feet). They reach a maximum of 28.5 cm (11.2 inches) in length, established by the fish photographed above. They feed diurnally on small crustaceans, sea urchins, mollusks, and brittle stars. The Banded Wrasse is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.
The Banded Wrasse is found in all Mexican waters of the Pacific with the exception that they are absent from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, northward along the central and northwest coasts of Baja and the northern 40% of the Sea of Cortez.
The Banded Wrasse is an easy fish to identify due to the bands along the top of its back, however, they might be confused with the Spinster Wrasse, Halichoeres nicholsi (no bands across back).
From a conservation perspective the Banded Wrasse is currently considered to be of Least Concern. They are small in stature and of limited interest to most with the exception that they are retained by subsistence fishermen for food. I can normally catch two or three of these fish on a standard predawn outing using a Carolina rig, size 6 hooks, baited with cut squid. They are normally found in heavy rock structure very close to shore.