Occurrence of Iniistius pavo (Valenciennes, 1840) from Gujarat

Abstract

Iniistius pavo (Valenciennes, 1840) commonly known as peacock wrasse belongs to the family Labridae. Distributed in Chagos, Kenya, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa and lately reported from Lakshadweep, the species is not reported hitherto from the mainland of India. Most species (82%) are found in the Indo-Pacific region, with Australia having the largest labrid fish fauna (about 33% of the species and 70% of the genera). This species usually occurs solitary in lagoon and seaward reef areas with fine to loose, coarse sand bottoms at depths of 7 to 30 m. The fish can dive into the sand when threatened. Wrasses are active only during day time, burrowing in the sand and sleeping in rock or coral shelters at night. The present specimen was observed for the first time at Veraval.