MULLIDAE


Parupeneus trifasciatus
(photo by Ukkrit Satapoomin)


Parupeneus trifasciatus
(Lacepède, 1801)
Doublebar Goatfish

D VIII+9; A I, 7; P1 15-17; GR 7-9 + 28-30.

Body moderately elongate. Chin with 2 short barbels, 1.6-1.9 in head length. Single row of teeth on both jaws. Vomer and palatines lacking teeth. Second dorsal and anal fins lacking scaled area. Last dorsal soft ray only slightly longer than penultimate ray. Color: body whitish to light red, with 2 black to blackish bars, the 1st of about 4 scales in width centered under origin of 1st dorsal fin and narrowing as it passes under pectoral fin, the 2nd below about anterior two thirds of 2nd dorsal fin; a 3rd bar sometimes present on caudal peduncle above lateral line; head pinkish gray with a broad indistinct dusky band from upper lip to eye; cheek and opercle with irregular yellow-edged blue spots; fins whitish to pale red. Size: at least reaching to 33 cm. Distribution: Indian Ocean. Remarks: Parupeneus insularis and P. crassilabris had been mistakenly identified as P. bifasciatus, which is a junior synonym of present species. (Hisashi Imamura)