False Diana's Pigfish
Bodianus dictynna
- Usual depth6–24 m
- Water temperature24–30 °C
- Best monthsMay, October, and November
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) 呂一起(Lyu yi-chi), some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Bodianus dictynna, is a species of wrasse native to tropical and warm temperate waters of the Western Pacific, from the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago east to Tonga, as far north as Japan and as far south as Australia. It is most frequently recorded in association with living coral reefs and the juvenile fish usually occur near black coral and gorgonians, although they sometimes are found in caves near the ceiling. It feeds mainly on benthic invertebrates such as molluscs and crustaceans. The juveniles regularly behave as cleaner fish, removing parasites from other fish. The specific name dictynna is an alternative name for Diana, the Roman goddess of hunting, and refers to the close relationship between this species and Bodianus diana of the Indian Ocean, and a proposed common name of Pacific Diana's pigfish also reflects this relationship.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Bodianus dictynna”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 67 records
- February: 37 records
- March: 73 records
- April: 60 records
- May: 74 records
- June: 64 records
- July: 61 records
- August: 55 records
- September: 69 records
- October: 79 records
- November: 100 records
- December: 66 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 6–24 m · Deepest record: 24.4 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 24–30 °C
Photos
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Ben Costamagna, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) desertnaturalist, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) desertnaturalist, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Ditch Townsend, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) Ditch Townsend, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) 呂一起(Lyu yi-chi), some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- False Diana's Pigfish, Pacific Diana's Hogfish, Redfin Hogfish
Names in 1 more languages
- Japanese
- Montsukibera, モンツキベラ
Other scientific names: Bodianus dyctynna
Similar species
Checkerboard wrasseHalichoeres hortulanus
Bluestreak cleaner wrasseLabroides dimidiatus
PyjamaPseudocheilinus hexataenia
Bumphead parrotfishBolbometopon muricatum
Humphead wrasseCheilinus undulatus
Blue-scaled Fairy WrasseCirrhilabrus cyanopleura
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 276 open-data records from 1967 to 2017.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
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