Checkerboard wrasse
Halichoeres hortulanus
- Usual depth4–21 m
- Water temperature24–30 °C
- Best monthsMarch and April
- How commonCommon
Photo credit: (c) Tom Heijnen, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
The checkerboard wrasse is a species of fish belonging to the wrasse family. It is native to the Indian Ocean and central Pacific Ocean.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Checkerboard wrasse”, 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: 438 records
- February: 1,295 records
- March: 1,541 records
- April: 2,488 records
- May: 1,375 records
- June: 1,178 records
- July: 1,012 records
- August: 802 records
- September: 827 records
- October: 913 records
- November: 580 records
- December: 369 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 4–21 m · Deepest record: 49 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 24–30 °C
Photos
(c) Иван Ковтун Ivan Kovtun, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Wang.QG, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) portioid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Ben Costamagna, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Annika Lindqvist, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) natomik, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Checkerboard wrasse, checkerboard wrasse, Chequerboard Wrasse, Four-spot Wrasse, Fourspot Wrasse, Rainbowfish, Wall Wrasse
Names in 7 more languages
- German
- Schachbrett-Junker
- Spanish
- Lalo Ajearezado, Señorita tablero de ajedrez
- Filipino
- Bankilan, Bunak, Bungat, Isdang bato, Mameng
- French
- Arc en Ciel Jaune, Girelle, Girelle échiquier, Labre damier, Labre-échiquier, Lalo damier, Tamarin
- Japanese
- Tokarabera, トカラベラ
- Thai
- ปลานกขุนทองตารางหมากรุก, ปลานกขุนทองลายเหลื่อม
- Simplified Chinese
- 四點儒艮鯛, 四齒仔, 方斑儒艮鯛, 柳冷仔, 格紋海豬魚, 格纹海猪鱼, 花面龍, 雲斑海豬魚, 雷仔, 鸚仔, 鸚哥, 黃花龍
Other scientific names: Halichoeres centiquadrus, Halichoeres centriquadrus, Halichoeres eximius, Halichoeres hortulans, Halichoeres notophthalmus, Hemitautoga centiquadrus, Labrus centiquadrus, Labrus hortulanus, Tautoga notophthalmus
Similar species
Canary WrasseHalichoeres chrysus
duskytailed rainbowfishHalichoeres melanurus
Half-grey WrasseHalichoeres prosopeion
Goldstripe WrasseHalichoeres hartzfeldii
Bluestreak cleaner wrasseLabroides dimidiatus
PyjamaPseudocheilinus hexataenia
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).
- 12,431 open-data records from 1902 to 2023.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
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