Teleostei (teleosts) >
Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) >
Labridae (Wrasses) > Xyrichtyinae
Etymology: Novaculops: Latin, novacula = razor + Greek, ops = appearance (Ref. 45335); halsteadi: Named for Robert A. Halstead, who observed the species in Papua New Guinea and suspected it was undescribed.
Eponymy: Robert A ‘Bob’ Halstead (1944–2018) was an early innovator in the development of dive tourism, pioneer diving instructor and underwater photographer. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on authors: Randall & Lobel.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 15 - 100 m (Ref. 90102). Tropical
Pacific: Papua New Guinea, Guam, Wake Island, and Tahiti.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 12.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 75958)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 12; Vertebrae: 25. This species is characterized by the following: D IX,12, the first two dorsal spines flexible and shorter than longest dorsal soft rays; body depth 3.1-3.35 in SL; cheek scaleless; 2 small scales dorsally on opercle; gill rakers 17-20; juveniles and females whitish with a red stripe from above eye to back at base of dorsal fin; males with a pale-edged black spot on seventh lateral-line scale and scales below (Ref. 75958).
Found solitary or in small groups near reefs in sand-rubble bottoms (Ref. 90102). Feeds on small benthic invertebrates (Ref. 89972). Maximum depth reported taken from Ref. 128797.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205).
Randall, J.E., 2013. Seven new species of labrid fishes (Coris, Iniistius, Macropharyngodon, Novaculops, and Pteragogus) from the Western Indian Ocean. J. Ocean Sci. Found. 7:1-43. (Ref. 93522)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 26.5 - 28.8, mean 27.9 °C (based on 72 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5156 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01047 (0.00408 - 0.02689), b=3.06 (2.84 - 3.28), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.4 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
![Image of Novaculops halsteadi (Halstead\](/images/thumbnails/jpg/tn_Nohal_u2.jpg "Image of Novaculops halsteadi (Halstead\")
