Kingdom Animalia Family Labridae Genus Oxycheilinus Order Perciformes | Class Actinopterygii Phylum Chordata Rank Species | |
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Similar Oxycheilinus, Halichoeres scapularis, Halichoeres maculipinna, Macropharyngodon negrosensis, Hologymnosus | ||
Oxycheilinus mentalis (mental wrasse) is a species of wrasse found in the Western Indian Ocean, in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
It has been known to change its colouration to match species of non-predatory parrotfish and surgeonfish. It then swims with these harmless model species and predates upon passing fish. This is a form of aggressive mimicry. Without a model fish, the mental wrasse has a redish pink colour.
References
Oxycheilinus mentalis Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA