Halichoeres claudia Randall & Rocha, 2009
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Halichoeres claudia, the Christmas wrasse, is a species of wrasse of the family Labridae. It is widely distributed in the southwestern Pacific, occurring from French Polynesia to the Great Barrier Reef, with isolated populations in the Indian Ocean (Christmas Island and Cocos Keeling). This species was treated as Halichoeres ornatissimus for a long time, however, genetic evidence has shown that H. ornatissimus is restricted to Hawaii, while H. claudia is widespread in the western Pacific. The species was named in honor of Claudia Rocha for her contributions to ichthyology.
Wikipedia contributors, Halichoeres claudia; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:42:21.047614+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Halichoeres claudia Randall & Rocha, 2009
- Name authority
- Randall & Rocha, 2009
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Family
- Labridae
- Genus
- Halichoeres
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- familyLabridae Cuvier, 1816
- subfamilyJulidinae Bonaparte, 1841
- genusHalichoeres Rüppell, 1835
- speciesHalichoeres claudia Randall & Rocha, 2009
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Halichoeres. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| mangrove wrasseHalichoeres aestuaricola Bussing, 1972 | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| greenband wrasseHalichoeres bathyphilus (Beebe & Tee-Van, 1932) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Halichoeres bicolor (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| slippery dickHalichoeres bivittatus (Bloch, 1791) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| wounded wrasseHalichoeres chierchiae Di Caporiacco, 1948 | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Halichoeres chlorocephalus Kuiter & Randall, 1995 | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Halichoeres chloropterus (Bloch, 1791) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Halichoeres chrysotaenia (Bleeker, 1853) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| yellowcheek wrasseHalichoeres cyanocephalus (Bloch, 1791) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Halichoeres discolor Bussing, 1983 | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| chameleon wrasseHalichoeres dispilus (Günther, 1864) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Halichoeres erdmanni Randall & Allen, 2010 | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Randall, J. E., & Rocha, L. A. (2009). Halichoeres claudia sp. nov., a New Indo-Pacific Wrasse (Perciformes: Labridae), the Fourth Species of the H. Ornatissimus Complex. Zool. Stud, 48. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3JBQV. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.