Thalassoma trilobatum (Lacepède [ex Commerson] 1801)—Ladder wrasse

Status at New Ireland. First recorded from New Hanover as Julis trilobata by Peters (1877: 843); subsequently reported as Julis fusca by Günther (1909: 293).

Distribution and habitat. New Ireland: 1.—General distribution: Transkei (South Africa), East Africa and western Mascarenes east to Wake Atoll and Pitcairn Group, north to Ryukyu and Ogasawara islands, south to Kermadec Islands and Tonga. Found in shallow exposed reef flats, usually with rock-base and mixed coral and algae, also in surge-swept reef flats, coral reef margins, and clear rocky shorelines, 0–10 m depth. Marine.