bamboo wrasse - bamboo wrasse (English spelling)

A marine fish belonging to the order Perciformes, family Labridae. It is endemic to Japan and is found from central Honshu to the southwest islands. Its body is oblong and laterally compressed, with a pointed snout. Not only do the body colors differ between males and females, but there are also many individual variations depending on where they live. Generally, the front half of the male's body is dark red and the back half is bluish, with black spots on the dorsal fin spine. The female is reddish brown with a thin black band on the back of the head, two rows of small black spots on the dorsal fin, and two rows of white spots on the back. It is 25 cm long. It is the most common type of wrasse on the southwest coast of Honshu, and is often found in shallow rocky reefs covered with seaweed. At night, it sleeps in the shade of rocks or at the base of seaweed, and in winter it burrows into the sand to hibernate. Its meat is soft, but it is one of the tastiest of the wrasse species.

[Tadakazu Araga]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

硬骨魚綱スズキ目ベラ科に属する海水魚。日本固有種で、本州中部から南西諸島に分布する。体は長楕円(ちょうだえん)形で側扁(そくへん)し、吻(ふん)はとがる。体色は雌雄で異なるだけでなく、すみ場所による個体変異も多い。一般に雄の体は前半部が暗赤色で、後半部は青みを帯び、背びれ棘(きょく)部に黒色斑(はん)がある。雌は赤褐色で頭部背面に細い黒色帯があり、背びれに2列の小黒色点と背部に2列の白色斑がある。全長25センチメートル。本州南西岸ではもっとも普通なベラの一種で、海藻が茂った浅い岩礁に多い。夜は岩陰や海藻の根元で眠り、冬は砂の中に潜って冬眠する。肉質は柔らかいが、ベラ類のなかでは味のよい種類。

［荒賀忠一］

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