rockmover wrasse
Novaculichthys taeniourus (Lacepède, 1801)
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
Novaculichthys taeniourus, also known as the rockmover wrasse, carpet wrasse, dragon wrasse, bar-cheeked wrasse, olive-scribbled wrasse or reindeer wrasse, is a species of wrasse mainly found in coral reefs and lagoons in the Indo-Pacific region. These include habitats in the Gulf of California to Panama; tropical Pacific Ocean islands including Hawaii; the Philippines, Indonesia and Australia; and the Indian Ocean to the east coast of Africa. The common name, "rockmover wrasse", comes from their behavior of upending small stones and reef fragments in search of prey. This species is the only known member of its genus.
Wikipedia contributors, Novaculichthys; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:01:10.898053+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Novaculichthys taeniourus (Lacepède, 1801)
- Name authority
- (Lacepède, 1801)
- Common name
- rockmover wrasse
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Family
- Labridae
- Genus
- Novaculichthys
- 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
- subfamilyXyrichtyinae Bonaparte, 1841
- genusNovaculichthys Bleeker, 1862
- speciesNovaculichthys taeniourus (Lacepède, 1801)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Hemipteronotus taeniourus (Lacepède, 1801) (Lacepède, 1801) | synonym |
| Novaculichthys bifer (Lay & Bennett, 1839) (Lay & Bennett, 1839) | synonym |
| Novaculichthys taeniorus (Lacepède, 1801) (Lacepède, 1801) | synonym |
| Xyrichthys taeniouris (Lacepède, 1801) (Lacepède, 1801) | synonym |
| Novaculichthys taeniurus (Lacepède, 1801) (Lacepède, 1801) | synonym |
| Hemipteronotus taeniurus (Lacepède, 1801) (Lacepède, 1801) | synonym |
| Julis bifer Lay & Bennett, 1839 Lay & Bennett, 1839 | synonym |
| Labrus taeniours Lacepède, 1801 Lacepède, 1801 | synonym |
| Labrus taeniourus Lacepède, 1801 Lacepède, 1801 | synonym |
| Novaculichtys taeniorus (Lacepède, 1801) (Lacepède, 1801) | synonym |
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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=219035 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:47ZW9. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.