Novaculichthys taeniourus (Lacepède, 1801)

Andréfouët, Serge, Chen, Wei-Jen, Kinch, Jeff, Mana, Ralph, Russell, Barry C., Tully, Dean & White, William T., 2019, Checklist of the marine and estuarine fishes of New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea, western Pacific Ocean, with 810 new records, Zootaxa 4588 (1), pp. 1-360 : 235

Novaculichthys taeniourus (Lacepède [ex Commerson] 1801)—Rockmover wrasse

Status at New Ireland. First recorded from New Ireland as Novacula (Novaculichthys) taeniura by Peters (1877: 843); reported from San Mathias as Novacula taeniurus by Duncker & Mohr (1929: 68). ZMH material. 2 specimens photographed at Lissenung Island, Kavieng District, 10 m depth, by Dean Tully on 18 Sept. 2012; a video of a specimen taken off southeastern New Hanover, at 6–21 m depth, St. KR124, in 2014 (identified by Barry C. Russell).

Distribution and habitat. New Ireland: 1, 2, 4.—General distribution: Red Sea, East Africa and KwaZulu- Natal ( South Africa), Madagascar and Mascarenes east to Panama, north to southern Japan and Hawaiian Islands, south to Lord Howe, Norfolk and Tuamotu islands. Found in semi-exposed reef flats and lagoon and seaward coral reefs; common in areas of mixed sand, and rubble that are subject to mild surge; juveniles shallow on rubble amongst large bommies or protected open patches on reef crests and swim as if were a leaf floating along the bottom; large adults move along over large reef section, solitary or in pairs and typically turn or shift large pieces of rubble or debris, 1–25 m depth. Marine.