Oxycheilinus digramma (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
The cheek-lined wrasse, bandcheek wrasse, or cheek-lined Maori wrasse (Oxycheilinus digramma), 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.
Oxycheilinus digramma lives in coral reefs, sheltered inland areas, and lagoons at depths from 3 to 60 m (9.8 to 196.9 ft), possibly to 120 m (390 ft). Juveniles of O. digramma have been observed to live among the tentacles of the mushroom coral Heliofungia actiniformis.
This species eats sea urchins, molluscs, and crustaceans. It uses other fish as a moving blind to approach its prey.
Wikipedia contributors, Cheek-lined wrasse; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:28:11.164845+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Oxycheilinus digramma (Lacepède, 1801)
- Name authority
- (Lacepède, 1801)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Family
- Labridae
- Genus
- Oxycheilinus
- 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
- subfamilyCheilininae Bleeker, 1862
- genusOxycheilinus Gill, 1862
- speciesOxycheilinus digramma (Lacepède, 1801)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Oxycheilinus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| twospot wrasseOxycheilinus bimaculatus (Valenciennes, 1840) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oxycheilinus celebicus (Bleeker, 1853) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oxycheilinus mentalis (Rüppell, 1828) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oxycheilinus orientalis (Günther, 1862) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oxycheilinus lineatus Randall, Westneat & Gomon, 2003 | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| speckled maori wrasseOxycheilinus arenatus (Valenciennes, 1840) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oxycheilinus nigromarginatus Randall, Westneat & Gomon, 2003 | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oxycheilinus unifasciatus (Streets, 1877) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
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=277996 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:4BDMD. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.