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.

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. Molecular phylogenetic analysis has so far demonstrated the monophyly of the subgenera, although not all species in the genus have been evaluated.

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.

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. Anvil use is also documented in several other wrasse genera.

Species

The 27 currently recognized species in this genus are:

Subgenus	Species	Common name	Image
Aspiurochilus	Choerodon azurio (D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1901)	Azurio tuskfish	File:Choerodon azurio (cropped).jpg
	Choerodon cypselurus Gomon, 2017	swallowtail tuskfish
	Choerodon monostigma J. D. Ogilby, 1910	dark-spot tuskfish
	Choerodon robustus (Günther, 1862)	robust tuskfish	File:Robust Tuskfish, Be'er Sheva, Israel imported from iNaturalist photo 241314392 (cropped).jpg
	Choerodon zamboangae (Seale & B. A. Bean, 1907)	purple eyebrowed tuskfish	File:FMIB 47500 Choerops zamboangae.jpeg
Choerodon	Choerodon anchorago (Bloch, 1791)	orange-dotted tuskfish	File:Anchor tuskfish (Choerodon anchorago) - 49760086097 (cropped).jpg
	Choerodon cauteroma M. F. Gomon & G. R. Allen, 1987	bluespotted tuskfish	File:Bluespotted Tuskfish imported from iNaturalist photo 442735447 on 12 January 2025.png
	Choerodon cephalotes (Castelnau, 1875)	purple tuskfish	File:Purple Tuskfish, Nudgee Beach QLD 4014, Australia imported from iNaturalist photo 346780718 (cropped).jpg
	Choerodon cyanodus (J. Richardson, 1843)	blue tuskfish	File:Blue Tuskfish, Heron Island, QLD, Australia imported from iNaturalist photo 133770304 (cropped).jpg
	Choerodon graphicus (de Vis, 1885)	graphic tuskfish	File:Graphic Tuskfish, Heron Island, QLD, Australia imported from iNaturalist photo 133770342 (cropped).jpg
	Choerodon oligacanthus (Bleeker, 1851)	white-patch tuskfish
	Choerodon rubescens (Günther, 1862)	baldchin groper	File:Choerodon rubescens (cropped).jpg
	Choerodon schoenleinii (Valenciennes, 1839)	blackspot tuskfish	File:Blackspot Tuskfish imported from iNaturalist photo 401481161 on 12 January 2025 (cropped).jpg
	Choerodon venustus (de Vis, 1884)	Venus tuskfish
Lienardella	Choerodon fasciatus (Günther, 1867)	harlequin tuskfish	File:Harlequin Tuskfish, Daydream Island, Australia imported from iNaturalist photo 38815846 (cropped).jpg
Lutjanilabrus	Choerodon vitta J. D. Ogilby, 1910	redstripe tuskfish	File:Redstripe Tuskfish imported from iNaturalist photo 442736514 on 12 January 2025.png
Peaolopseia	Choerodon albofasciatus Gomon, 2017
	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	File:Blackwedge Tuskfish, 小琉球（美人洞） imported from iNaturalist photo 107552207 (cropped).jpg
	Choerodon margaritiferus Fowler & B. A. Bean, 1928	pearly tuskfish
	Choerodon skaiopygmaeus Gomon, 2017
	Choerodon sugillatum M. F. Gomon, 1987	wedge-tailed tuskfish	File:Wedgetail Tuskfish imported from iNaturalist photo 442736423 on 12 January 2025.png
	Choerodon zosterophorus (Bleeker, 1868)	Zoster wrasse	File:Zoster wrasse (Choerodon zosterophorus) (40503187381) (cropped).jpg
Xiphocheilus	Choerodon typus Bleeker, 1856	blue-banded wrasse	File:Xiphocheilus typus.gif

References

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