Wrasse ID

[Aquashot 0]

Is this (the fish in the center) a pencil wrasse, or a juvenile of another wrasse??

 

[jkane 0]

Possibly. Hard to see it well. Or maybe a Disappearing Wrasse (Pseudocheilinus evanidus). Was it shot in Hawaii??

[acroporas 0]

First, when looking for an ID, always post where the photo was taken. Though I don't know if it would help me that much in this case.

 

The mouth reminds me of that of a cleaner wrasse but I did not find any pictures that matched your fish very closely. The closest I found was Labroides rubrolabiatus but it is a bit of a stretch. Hopefully someone else will recognize it.

[Aquashot 0]

Sorry, I forgot the all important location: Kona, Hawaii

[Rocha 0]

I think its an oddly colored Saddled Wrasse (Thalassoma duperrey) in transitional phase. It is endemic to Hawaii.

[Aquashot 0]

I think its an oddly colored Saddled Wrasse (Thalassoma duperrey) in transitional phase. It is endemic to Hawaii.

 

I am thinking you are right, what is throwing me however is the total lack of a mid-body white or light stripe and the mouth shape does not look quite the same, at least in the resources I have, "Hawaiis Fishes by John P. Hoover, "Reef Fish Identification, Tropical pacific" by Allen, Steene, Humann & Deloach and this website: http://www.marinelifephotography.com/default.htm by Keoki & Yuko Stedner

 

darn, I really want to know, the wrasses are tough to nail down sometimes.

[Rocha 0]

Look at the pictures here:

 

http://www.fishbase.org/photos/thumbnailssummary.php?ID=7770

 

The juvenile above looks very similar to the one in your photo...

[Aquashot 0]

I'm convinced,

 

So far the juvenile saddle wrasse is the closest match. The way the mouth looks is probably just due to the angle of the shot.

 

Thanks