spotty

About this species

The spotty or paketi is a species of wrasse endemic to the waters around New Zealand, including Stewart Island and the surrounding areas. It can be found on reefs at depths from 22 to 145 m, though most common in shallower parts of that range. This species can reach 23.9 cm (9.4 in) in standard length.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Spotty (fish)”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 144 records
February: 141 records
March: 126 records
April: 100 records
May: 57 records
June: 30 records
July: 24 records
August: 28 records
September: 44 records
October: 124 records
November: 154 records
December: 164 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 6–36 m · Deepest record: 287 m

0–10 m: 366 records
10–20 m: 507 records
20–30 m: 419 records
30–40 m: 170 records
40–50 m: 84 records
50–60 m: 15 records
60–70 m: 1 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 3 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 12–21 °C

10–12 °C: 7 records
12–14 °C: 274 records
14–16 °C: 129 records
16–18 °C: 217 records
18–20 °C: 2 records
20–22 °C: 1 records

Photos

(c) Shaun Lee, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Oscar Dove, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Javier, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Colin Meurk, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Jenny Saito, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Genevieve Early, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Oscar Dove, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: spotty

Names in 1 more languages

German: Flecken-Lippfisch

Other scientific names: Julis celidotus, Labrichthys botryocosmus, Labrichthys celidota, Labrus botryocosmus, Labrus celidotus, Labrus poecilopleura, Pseudolabrus celidotus

Similar species

banded parrotfish
Notolabrus fucicola
Bluehead
Notolabrus tetricus
Crimson-banded Parrot-fish
Notolabrus gymnogenis
Green Wrasse
Notolabrus inscriptus
Brown-spotted Parrotfish
Notolabrus parilus
Girdled Wrasse
Notolabrus cinctus

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).
1,855 open-data records from 1907 to 2024.
Species data updated November 5, 2026.