Labroides pectoralis, Breastspot cleaner wrasse : fisheries, aquarium

Labroides pectoralis Randall & Springer, 1975

Breastspot cleaner wrasse
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Labroides pectoralis   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Labroides pectoralis (Breastspot cleaner wrasse)
Labroides pectoralis
Picture by Tanaka, H.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) > Labridae (Wrasses) > Julidinae
Etymology: Labroides: Combination of the labrid genus Labrus and the Greek suffix -oides meaning ‘resembling’ or ‘to bear likeness to’, presumably referring to its similarity with the genus Labrus (or simply other members of the family Labridae).
More on authors: Randall & Springer.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 30 m (Ref. 128797). Tropical; 28°N - 25°S, 94°E - 128°W

Distribution Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Pacific. Eastern Indonesia (throughout the Lesser Sunda Is., the Banda Arch., Moluccan Arch., Sulawesi, and west Papua); Philippines, Palau; north to the Okinawa Is. Western and southwestern Pacific: Bismarck Arch., the Solomon Is., the Caroline Is., the Marshall Is., the Northern Mariana Is., Ogasawara, the Great Barrier Reef in northeastern Australia, the Coral Sea, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu. Eastern Indian Ocean: reported from Ashmore Reef and the Cartier Islands in the Timor Sea, and from Rowley Shoals, Scott Reef, and Seringapatam Reefs off Western Australia. Reports of Labroides pectoralis from the Christmas and Cocos (Keeling) Islands are referrable to another species

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 6.1 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 138889)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 10; Vertebrae: 25. This species is distinguished by the following characters: D IX,11; A III,10; pectoral-fin rays 13; upper procurrent caudal-fin rays 6-7, lower 7-8; principal caudal-fin rays 8 + 7 (BPBM 15838 with 8 + 8); circumpeduncular scales 18-20; body depth 3.6-4.2 in SL; head length 2.5-3.1 in SL; snout length 2.9-4.0 in HL; orbit diameter 3.9-5.3 in HL; orbit diameter 1.0-1.7 in snout length; caudal-peduncle length 2.4-4.0 in HL; pored lateral-line scales 26-28; scale rows above lateral line 3, below lateral line 9-10; total gill rakers 13-14. Colouration: head and anterior body bright yellow, darkening to orange posteriorly above median lateral black stripe; median lateral black stripe is constricted or attenuated to about origin of anal fin, expanding past this point toward edge of caudal fin; upper and lowermost edge of caudal fin light blue to lilac; pelvic fins are translucent yellow; pectoral fins translucent, its lower base with a large elliptical spot (Ref. 138889).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated; Cross section: compressed.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabits coral-rich areas of seaward and clear lagoon reefs (Ref. 9710). Occur solitarily or in pairs. Creates 'cleaning ' stations to which fishes come to have crustacean ectoparasites and mucus removed (Ref. 2334); client fish Myripristis violacea (Ref. 138889).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Westneat, Mark | Collaborators

Tea, Y.-K., L. Baraf, Y. Menkara, W.B. Ludt, G.R. Allen, J.-P.A. Hobbs and P.F. Cowman, 2026. Cleaning up the cleaner wrasses: revision of the Labroides phthirophagus and Labroides bicolor species complexes, with rediagnosis of Labroides quadrilineatus and descriptions of two new species (Teleostei: Labridae). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology v. 74: 403-443. (Ref. 138889)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2 (Global))

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 12 May 2008

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
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Predators
Ecology
Ecology
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Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
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Maturity/Gills rel.
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References

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index
(Ref. 82804) 		PD50 = 0.5039 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight a=0.00490 (0.00203 - 0.01181), b=3.13 (2.92 - 3.34), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level
(Ref. 69278) 		4.0   ±0.66 se; based on food items.
Resilience
(Ref. 120179) 		High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability
(Ref. 59153) 		Low vulnerability (16 of 100). 🛈
Price category
(Ref. 80766) 		Very high.
Nutrients
(Ref. 124155) 		Calcium = 119 [61, 222] mg/100g; Iron = 0.73 [0.40, 1.47] mg/100g; Protein = 18.1 [15.2, 20.3] %; Omega3 = 0.112 [0.061, 0.204] g/100g; Selenium = 24.9 [11.3, 53.4] μg/100g; VitaminA = 165 [46, 713] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.76 [1.09, 2.80] mg/100g (wet weight);