Weird fish off Maui

[Seaweed Doc]

I saw this unusual (to me) fish off Maui a week ago while there on vacation. It's got me stumped.

I consulted three fish guidebooks I have for Hawaii, and tried seeing if inaturalist.org's computer algorithm could help me out. Neither was helpful: inaturalist suggested it was a ray-finned fish. Great, along with everything from morays to angelfish.....

Anybody recognize it?

(Apologies for poor image quality. Not my best work, but I think it shows the diagnostic features you'd need to identify it. If you, unlike me, had any idea what it was....)

 

[lowwall]

I think that falls under my rule of thumb, "If you don't know what it is and it's fish shaped, it's a wrasse."

Probably a Christmas Wrasse. Here's one with similar markings. Christmas Wrasse - Hawaii

 

[Seaweed Doc]

I think that falls under my rule of thumb, "If you don't know what it is and it's fish shaped, it's a wrasse."

Probably a Christmas Wrasse. Here's one with similar markings. Christmas Wrasse - Hawaii

Thanks for the tip! I was thinking something wrasse-like, but this one didn't look anything like a Christmas wrasse in my guidebooks. Seems like how green or red they are varies a lot.

I'm surprised inaturalist couldn't help me out, since Christmas wrasse aren't all that uncommon. I've seen them before, but I guess never one so green....

 

[Esprise Me]

Or possibly an ornate wrasse?

 

[fisheater]

Or possibly an ornate wrasse?

Halichoeres ornatissimus go by many names, including Christmass wrasse, ornate wrasse and ornamented wrasse.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

Yeah, it's ornate wrasse, a juvenile. Christmas wrasse to me and my books is a different species. Hard to argue with the Latin names, though.

 

[Knockneed Man]

Funny , as soon as I saw it I thought wrasse