#bodianus

A juvenile California sheephead (Bodianus pulcher) in Channel Islands National Park, California, USA

AKA red hogfish, eastern pigfish, Banded Pigfish, Black-spot Pigfish, Eastern Blackspot Pigfish, and Reddish Blackspot Pigfish.

photo by @purrdence​ 

A species of wrasse (Labridae) native from eastern Australia to New Zealand, including Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, and the Kermadec Islands. They live in coastal reefs and offshore waters down to a depths of about 60m.

Males of this species can reach half a meter in size, while females only reach 30 cm.

I don’t know why they’re called pigfish - there are certainly other unrelated fish with the same common name that can grunt loudly when distressed by grinding their pharyngeal teeth together, but I don’t know if these do.

Barred Hogfish - Female | ©Tony J. Gilbert   (Lanzarote, Canary Islands)

The Barred hogfish, Bodianus scrofa (Perciformes - Labridae) is a reef-associated fish endemic to the Macaronesian archipelagos of the Azores, Madeira, Selvagens, Canary and Cape Verde Islands. Based on 100 m bathymetry, the area of occupancy of this species is estimated to be less than 2,000 km2.

This is a large species with males reaching a maximum length of 80 cm. It is threatened by overfishing throughout its restricted range. Sensitivity to recreational fishing is also of major concern due to increasing boatfishing and freediving.