bluntheaded wrasse
Thalassoma amblycephalum (Bleeker, 1856)
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
Thalassoma amblycephalum, the blunt-headed wrasse, blue-headed wrasse, blue-headed zoe, moon wrasse, paddle-fin wrasse or two-tone wrasse, is a species of wrasse native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. It is a reef inhabitant, being found in schools at depths from 1 to 15 m (3.3 to 49.2 ft). This species can reach 16 cm (6.3 in) in standard length. It can also be found in the aquarium trade.
Wikipedia contributors, Thalassoma amblycephalum; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:22:22.437648+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Thalassoma amblycephalum (Bleeker, 1856)
- Name authority
- (Bleeker, 1856)
- Common name
- bluntheaded wrasse
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Family
- Labridae
- Genus
- Thalassoma
- 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
- genusThalassoma Swainson, 1839
- speciesThalassoma amblycephalum (Bleeker, 1856)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Thalassoma. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Thalassoma ascensionis (Quoy & Gaimard, 1834) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| blueheadThalassoma bifasciatum (Bloch, 1791) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Thalassoma genivittatum (Valenciennes, 1839) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| sunset wrasseThalassoma grammaticum Gilbert, 1890 | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Thalassoma hardwicke (Bennett, 1830) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| goldbar wrasseThalassoma hebraicum (Lacepède, 1801) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Thalassoma heiseri Randall & Edwards, 1984 | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Thalassoma jansenii (Bleeker, 1856) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cortez rainbow wrasseThalassoma lucasanum (Gill, 1862) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Thalassoma lutescens (Lay & Bennett, 1839) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Thalassoma noronhanum (Boulenger, 1890) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Thalassoma pavo (Linnaeus, 1758) | LabridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Julis amblycephalus Bleeker, 1856 Bleeker, 1856 | synonym |
| Julis melanochir Bleeker, 1857 Bleeker, 1857 | synonym |
| Thalassoma melanochir Fowler, 1904 Fowler, 1904 | synonym |
| Thalassoma amblycephala (Bleeker, 1856) (Bleeker, 1856) | synonym |
| Thalassoma amblycephalus (Bleeker, 1856) (Bleeker, 1856) | synonym |
| Pseudojulis trifasciatus Weber, 1913 Weber, 1913 | synonym |
| Pseudojuloides trifasciatus (Weber, 1913) (Weber, 1913) | synonym |
| Thalassoma melanochir (Bleeker, 1857) (Bleeker, 1857) | 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=212216 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:55ZMH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.