Juvenile Harlequin/Many-Spotted Sweetlips
This is a juvenile Harlequin/Many-Spotted Sweetlips - Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides.
Juveniles are brown with large white blotches and mimic the movement of a poisonous flatworm for defence against predators. They gain more spots and the spots reverse from white to black as they age.
Adults of this species can be seen here :
"Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides", the harlequin sweetlips, is a species of grunt native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. It is a denizen of coral reefs found at depths of from 1 to 30 m. It can reach 72 cm in TL. The heaviest known individual weighed 7 kg. This species is of minor importance to local commercial fisheries and can be found in the aquarium trade.
Juveniles are brown with large white blotches and mimic the movement of a poisonous flatworm for defence against.. more
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