bandcheek wrasse
Oxycheilinus digramma
- Usual depth5–23 m
- Water temperature24–30 °C
- Best monthsApril, July, and October
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
The cheek-lined wrasse, bandcheek wrasse, or cheek-lined Maori wrasse, is a species of wrasse native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. It is of minor importance to local commercial fisheries and can also be found in the aquarium trade. The fish grows to about 40 cm (16 in) in standard length. The side of the fish's head has horizontal stripes, while the front of the head has red spots. Coloring of the fish varies from pale gray to purple. Aquarium specimens are less tense than their wild counterparts.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Cheek-lined 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: 204 records
- February: 215 records
- March: 301 records
- April: 410 records
- May: 272 records
- June: 271 records
- July: 386 records
- August: 381 records
- September: 340 records
- October: 400 records
- November: 256 records
- December: 147 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 5–23 m · Deepest record: 57 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 24–30 °C
Photos
(c) Bernard DUPONT, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) bogsuckers, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) portioid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Tom Heijnen, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Ditch Townsend, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- bandcheek wrasse, Cheek-lined Maori Wrasse, Cheeklined Maori Wrasse, Cheeklined wrasse
Names in 2 more languages
- French
- Vieille barbe noire
- Japanese
- Hohosujimochinouo, Hôsuji-mochino-uo, ホホスジモチノウオ
Other scientific names: Cheilinus coccineus, Cheilinus commersoni, Cheilinus commersonii, Cheilinus diagramma, Cheilinus diagrammus, Cheilinus digramma, Cheilinus digrammas, Cheilinus digrammus, Cheilinus lacrymans, Cheilinus radiatus, Cheilinus roseus, Labrus digramma, Oxycheilinus diagramma, Oxycheilinus diagrammus, Oxycheilinus digrammus, Sparus radiatus
Similar species
Twospot wrasseOxycheilinus bimaculatus
Oriental maori wrasseOxycheilinus orientalis
Tripletail wrasseCheilinus trilobatus
Blunt-head ParrotfishChlorurus microrhinos
bullethead parrotfishChlorurus sordidus
Clown wrasseCoris aygula
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).
- 3,466 open-data records from 1902 to 2023.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
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