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Choerodon

Choerodon is a genus of wrasses native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. They originated in the Miocene, when the Australian and Eurasian Plates collided. They are commonly referred to as tuskfish, because most species have sharp tusk-like teeth.

Last revised
Jul 18, 2026
Read time
≈ 4 min
Length
903 w
Citations
23
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Choerodon
Blue-spotted tuskfish (C. cauteroma)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Labriformes
Family: Labridae
Subfamily: Hypsigenyinae
Genus: Choerodon
Bleeker, 1849
Type species
Labrus macrodontus
Lacépède, 18011
Synonyms2
List
  • Aspiurochilus Fowler, 1956
  • Choerodonoides Kamohara, 1958
  • Choerops Rüppell, 1852
  • Cossyphodes Bleeker, 1860
  • Hypsigenys Günther, 1861
  • Lienardella Fowler & B. A. Bean, 1928
  • Macrochoerodon Fowler & B. A. Bean, 1928
  • Peaolopesia J. L. B. Smith, 1949
  • Torresia Castelnau, 1875]

Choerodon is a genus of wrasses native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.3 They originated in the Miocene, when the Australian and Eurasian Plates collided.4 They are commonly referred to as tuskfish, because most species have sharp tusk-like teeth.

Taxonomy

The genus Choerodon is most closely related to the odacine wrasses. Both groups are part of the wrasse tribe Hypsigenyini. Choerodon is split into 6 subgenera.5 Molecular phylogenetic analysis has so far demonstrated the monophyly of the subgenera, although not all species in the genus have been evaluated.6

Choerodon typus was traditionally placed within its own genus Xiphocheilus, but both morphological and molecular analyses now place it within Choerodon, with Xiphocheilus becoming its subgenus name instead.56

Potential tool use in tuskfishes

Orange-dotted, blue, graphic, and blackspot tuskfish have been recorded using large rocks or hard coral as "anvils", upon which they smash open hard-shelled prey items. All four species belong to the subgenus Choerodon, and can remember to use a particular rock or coral repeatedly for this purpose. This behaviour usually involves invertebrate prey such as clams and sea urchins, but on one occasion, a blue tuskfish was filmed smashing a young green sea turtle on an anvil.7891011 Anvil use is also documented in several other wrasse genera.111213

Species

The 27 currently recognized species in this genus are:351415

Subgenus Species Common name Image
Aspiurochilus Choerodon azurio

(D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1901)

Azurio tuskfish
Choerodon cypselurus

Gomon, 2017

swallowtail tuskfish5
Choerodon monostigma

J. D. Ogilby, 1910

dark-spot tuskfish
Choerodon robustus

(Günther, 1862)

robust tuskfish
Choerodon zamboangae

(Seale & B. A. Bean, 1907)

purple eyebrowed tuskfish
Choerodon Choerodon anchorago

(Bloch, 1791)

orange-dotted tuskfish
Choerodon cauteroma

M. F. Gomon & G. R. Allen, 1987

bluespotted tuskfish
Choerodon cephalotes

(Castelnau, 1875)

purple tuskfish
Choerodon cyanodus

(J. Richardson, 1843)

blue tuskfish
Choerodon graphicus

(de Vis, 1885)

graphic tuskfish
Choerodon oligacanthus

(Bleeker, 1851)

white-patch tuskfish
Choerodon rubescens

(Günther, 1862)

baldchin groper
Choerodon schoenleinii

(Valenciennes, 1839)

blackspot tuskfish
Choerodon venustus

(de Vis, 1884)

Venus tuskfish
Lienardella Choerodon fasciatus

(Günther, 1867)

harlequin tuskfish
Lutjanilabrus Choerodon vitta

J. D. Ogilby, 1910

redstripe tuskfish
Peaolopseia Choerodon albofasciatus

Gomon, 20175

Choerodon aurulentus

Gomon, 2017

gilded tuskfish
Choerodon frenatus

J. D. Ogilby, 1910

bridled tuskfish
Choerodon gomoni

G. R. Allen & J. E. Randall, 2002

Gomon's tuskfish
Choerodon gymnogenys

(Günther, 1867)

Choerodon jordani

(Snyder, 1908)

Jordan's tuskfish
Choerodon margaritiferus

Fowler & B. A. Bean, 1928

pearly tuskfish
Choerodon skaiopygmaeus

Gomon, 20175

Choerodon sugillatum

M. F. Gomon, 1987

wedge-tailed tuskfish
Choerodon zosterophorus

(Bleeker, 1868)

Zoster wrasse
Xiphocheilus Choerodon typus

Bleeker, 1856

blue-banded wrasse
References

References

  1. Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Choerodon". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  2. Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Labridae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  3. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Choerodon". FishBase. August 2013 version.
  4. Puckridge, Melody; Last, Peter R.; Andreakis, Nikos (2015-03-01). "The role of peripheral endemism and habitat associations in the evolution of the Indo-West Pacific tuskfishes (Labridae: Choerodon)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 84: 64–72. Bibcode:2015MolPE..84...64P. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.11.007. ISSN 1055-7903. PMID 25463751.
  5. Museums Victoria; Martin F., Martin F. (2017-08-28). "A review of the tuskfishes, genus Choerodon (Labridae, Perciformes), with descriptions of three new species". Memoirs of Museum Victoria. 76: 1–111. doi:10.24199/j.mmv.2017.76.01.
  6. Hughes, Lily C; Nash, Chloe M; White, William T; Westneat, Mark W (2023-05-01). "Concordance and Discordance in the Phylogenomics of the Wrasses and Parrotfishes (Teleostei: Labridae)". Systematic Biology. 72 (3): 530–543. doi:10.1093/sysbio/syac072. ISSN 1063-5157. PMID 36331534.
  7. Pryor, Kimberley Jane; Milton, Ashley Monique (2023). "Tool use involving a different prey type, microhabitat and location, and long-term anvil use, by the graphic tuskfish Choerodon graphicus (De Vis 1885)". Marine Ecology. 44 (6) e12768. Bibcode:2023MarEc..44E2768P. doi:10.1111/maec.12768. ISSN 1439-0485.
  8. Jones, A. M.; Brown, C.; Gardner, S. (2011-09-01). "Tool use in the tuskfish Choerodon schoenleinii?". Coral Reefs. 30 (3): 865. Bibcode:2011CorRe..30..865J. doi:10.1007/s00338-011-0790-y. ISSN 1432-0975.
  9. Harborne, A. R.; Tholan, B. A. (2016-09-01). "Tool use by Choerodon cyanodus when handling vertebrate prey". Coral Reefs. 35 (3): 1069. Bibcode:2016CorRe..35.1069H. doi:10.1007/s00338-016-1448-6. ISSN 1432-0975.
  10. Nature, Research Communities by Springer (2017-10-31). "Tools and tails on Blue Planet II". Research Communities by Springer Nature. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
  11. Bernardi, G. (2012-03-01). "The use of tools by wrasses (Labridae)". Coral Reefs. 31 (1): 39. Bibcode:2012CorRe..31...39B. doi:10.1007/s00338-011-0823-6. ISSN 1432-0975.
  12. Jaishankar, Siddhi; Nair, Radhika; Alcoverro, Teresa; Arthur, Rohan (2024-04-01). "Anvil use by three wrasse species: Halichoeres hortulanus, Thalassoma jansenii, and Thalassoma lunare". Coral Reefs. 43 (2): 483–487. Bibcode:2024CorRe..43..483J. doi:10.1007/s00338-024-02467-y. ISSN 1432-0975.
  13. Pryor, Kimberley Jane (2022). "Tool use by the orange wrasse Pseudolabrus luculentus and doubleheader Coris bulbifrons". Marine Ecology. 43 (6) e12727. Bibcode:2022MarEc..43E2727P. doi:10.1111/maec.12727. ISSN 1439-0485.
  14. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (22 September 2018). "Order LABRIFORMES: Family LABRIDAE (a-h)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  15. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (22 September 2018). "Order LABRIFORMES: Family LABRIDAE (a-h)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 27 February 2023.