Description:

Dorsal spines: 9; Dorsal rays: 10-11; Anal spines: 3; Anal rays: 11.

Full-bodied wrasse. Lips thick and fleshy and increasingly so with age. A single pair of strongly projecting canine teeth anteriorly in each jaw, followed by a row of small 
blunt conical teeth. Caudal fin slightly rounded.

Colour. Body with black base colour and five narrow white bars, the first on the nape, the posterior bars fading with size. Chest white. Pectoral base black. Head pale yellow 
or light green with broad, irregular blue-edged orange or orange-pink bands. Caudal fin blackish or dark yellowish.

Juveniles head blackish with narrow white bands radiating from eye.

Size:

Maturity: Lm unknown. Range unknown. Max Length: 30 cm TL.

Habitat and Ecology:

Inhabits coral reefs and reef flats, shallow sandy areas and rubble bottoms (depth 1-35 m, mostly 1-20 m). Large adults swim openly on reefs, singly or in small loose 
aggregations. Juveniles are secretive, and often shelter near long-spined sea urchins. Feed mainly on small crustaceans, molluscs and echinoderms. Oviparous, with distinct 
pairing during breeding.

Fishery Status:

This species is not protected or subject to fishery regulations. It is caught in the fish trap fishery, but is an uncommon component of the catch.

Notes:
References:

Bray, D.J. Hemigymnus fasciatus in Fishes of Australia, http://136.154.202.208/home/species/244 (19/03/20).
Choat, J.H. et al. (2010). Hemigymnus fasciatus. The IUCN Red List 2010: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T187373A8516990.en. (19/03/20).
Froese, R. & D. Pauly. (Eds.) (2019). FishBase. https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Hemigymnus-fasciatus (04/06/19).
Randall, J.E. (1986). Labridae. p. 683-706. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

Citation:

Nevill, J.E.G. (2019). Hemigymnus fasciatus, Barred thicklip. Seychelles Seatizens. www.seatizens.sc. https://seatizens.sc/species/hemigymnus-fasciatus-bloch-1792/ (edited 11/07/22).