• Source: Asian sheepshead wrasse

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The Asian sheepshead wrasse (Semicossyphus reticulatus) is one of the largest species of wrasse. Native to the western Pacific Ocean, it inhabits rocky reef areas and prefers temperate waters around the Korean Peninsula, China, Japan, and the Chuckawala Islands. It can reach 100 cm (39 in) in total length and the greatest weight recorded for this species is 14.7 kg (32 lb). This species is valued for its sweet, shellfish-like taste.




SPECIES DESCRIPTION AND DISTRIBUTION


The Asian sheepshead wrasse, also known as the kobudai in Japan, is a hermaphroditic species, meaning that it has both male and female organs which allows it to change its sex. All Sheepshead are born female and as they grow older, eventually will change sex. The species gained media attention when the transformation was caught on camera by the BBC Earth crew while filming in the waters near Sado Island, Japan. In 2017, it was shown on the Blue Planet II episode "One Ocean".
According to Great Big Story, Japanese diver Hiroyuki Arakawa has had a 30-year relationship with a sheepshead wrasse in Japan's Tateyama Bay, where he is the caretaker for an underwater Shinto shrine. He calls the fish, named "Yoriko", by hitting a bell on the underwater shrine.




TAXONOMY


The Asian Sheepshead Wrasse, scientifically known as (Semicossyphus reticulatus), belong to a large variety of fish including other wrasses, and parrotfish. This fish is in the phylum Chordata, the Class Actinopterygii, the order Labriformes, and the Family Labridae. The fish is closely related to other wrasses such as the Semicossyphus darwini and Semicossyphus pulcher.
The taxonomy of this fish is relevant and important as many of the fish in this clade exhibit similar characteristics in terms of appearance, sexual behavior, and reproduction. Majority of the fish related to the Asian Sheepshead Wrasse possess large humps on the head and often have globiform body morphology. Additionally, these fish demonstrate hermaphroditism, where female fish are able to switch to male after reproducing. However, unlike many other hermaphroditic fish, the Asian Sheepshead Wrasse are only born female. In order to become male, must make the transition later in life. This phenomenon is only able to occur once the fish reaches maturity which depends on many other environmental factors.




APPEARANCE


The Asian Sheepshead Wrasse, also known in Japanese as the Kobudai, is one of the largest labrid species found in Northern Pacific Waters. Some of its notable and recognizable features include its color, forehead bump, and size.
The fish can reach a weight of around 14.7kg (32 pounds) while reaching a size of 100 cm in length. This makes the Asian Sheepshead Wrasse one of the largest fish in the sea. Asian Sheepshead Wrasse typically have wide globiform body-shape indicating their bulky body type. They also have terminal mouths showing that these animals are present usually in the middle of the water column, and prefer to eat prey directly in front of them or beneath them. These fish also have teeth-like structures present in the mouth. With these hard and ossified-like teeth structures, these fish are excellent at crushing their prey, crustaceans, between their teeth.
The Asian Sheepshead Wrasse has a truncate-shaped caudal fin, meaning that it is not a fast swimmer or hydrodynamic. Additionally, they have long dorsal fins with soft ray type structures. They also possess one pair of pectoral fins and an anal fin. However, these fish lack pelvic fins completely.
The fish is most known for the development of its bulbous forehead. Young juvenile Kobudai do not possess the bulbous forehead that is so prominent in adults. Additionally, young Sheepshead Wrasse have black on the tail and fins, which is eventually lost in adults. Adults are a unique pink-gray color, unusual to most fish. Although this fish is known for being hermaphroditic, males and females possess differing morphological features. Males are typically larger than females and have slightly different coloration.




BIOLOGY






= Reproduction

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Asian Sheepshead Wrasse have one of the most unique reproductive systems. This fish exhibits hermaphrodite qualities in which female fish are able to transition into male species. This is usually indicated by large bump present on the head of the fish. After the transition, the fish has a much larger bulbous forehead, and also exhibits development of testes and aggressive behavior. The Asian Sheepshead Wrasse mainly make the transition from female to male and not the opposite.
The ability to switch sexes is highly beneficial for the Kobudai. By being able to switch sexes, it is able to reproduce twice, once as the female producing eggs and second as the male fertilizing with sperm. Due to this evolutionary adaptation, the Asian Sheepshead Wrasse is able to successfully maximize its reproduction and pass on genetic information at a better rate.
There are many types of hermaphroditic species in the animal kingdom. Asian Sheepshead Wrasse are known to be sequential hermaphrodites. This means that they switch solely from female to male. In fact, most of the fish in the family of wrasses, including parrot fish and other reef fish are sequential hermaphrodites.
Post-transitioned males possess some left-over characteristics of females including some ovariform gonads. It is important to note that most likely all males go through being female before switching to male. This is known as diandry, where there is no smaller male (who did not encounter a transition) present. There is a lack of primary testes in males which indicates that the Asian Sheepshead Wrasse is not diandric and that being female first is sexually advantageous.
Males and females reproduce by practicing spawning. These practices usually occur in warmer waters. Prior to mating, males and females engage in courtship or what can be considered a dance. It has been observed that one large male tends to mate with multiple smaller females at the same time, indicating a polygynous mating system.




= Age

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Semicossyphus reticulatus are able to live long life spans. Compared to most fish, these fish live to be up to forty to fifty years or so. Due to this ability to live long, their sexual adaptations of hermaphroditism have been able to persist.
Once the fish reach a certain age, it reaches sexual maturity. Depending on the conditions, Asian Sheepshead Wrasse then undergo sexual transition from male to female. There is no definite age when this occurs, if it occurs even at all. However, most fish make the switch from female to male as it is highly favorable the older they get.




= Growth

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Asian Sheepshead Wrasse are able to grow extremely large during their lives. The size of their body often reflects age. At age zero, immature female Asian Sheepshead Wrasse are around 100 mm in length, reaching to around 400 mm at the age of fifteen years. Mature males (due to hermaphroditic reproductive lifestyles) are around 400 mm to 600 mm and can spend the remaining portion of their lives that size.




= Food and Feeding Habits

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The Asian Sheepshead Wrasse has very interesting feeding habits compared to many other ocean dwelling fish. Asian Sheepshead Wrasse mostly consume marine invertebrates such as mollusks, crabs, and sea urchins while also consuming smaller vertebrates like fish. However, their consumption of sea urchins is perhaps what the Kobudai is most known for. Asian Sheepshead Wrasse are one of the only few remaining predators to these marine invertebrates and play an important role in population control of sea urchins. They are crucial to maintaining healthy marine habitats.




CONSERVATION STATUS


Conservation of the Asian Sheepshead Wrasse is important now more than ever. Although, due to their hermaphroditic reproductive biology and morphology which is advantageous for the fish to persist onward, they are still vulnerable to anthropogenic factors.
Not only are direct anthropogenic causes such as overfishing and over consumption the reason to blame for the decline of this animal, but there are many other indirect anthropogenic causes. Just like most specialist animals across the world, the Asian Sheepshead Wrasse has faced significant habitat losses and degradation. Pollution, shipping traffic, and unsustainable fishing practices such as bottom trawling have caused these fish to decline in recent years even more.
Despite these issues, the Asian Sheepshead Wrasse’s conservation according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), are data deficient and their proper conservation status is undetermined.




References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Asian sheepshead wrasse
• Semicossyphus
• Oceans (film)
• Kamogawa Sea World
• List of fish common names
• Kamo Aquarium
• List of data deficient fishes
• List of least concern perciform fishes
• List of fishes of Florida
• Ensembl genome database project