Corrugated lip fish (scientific name: Cheilinus undulatus): the body is elongated and oblong, the head contour is straight from the back to the eye, and then protruding; the adult fish has a protruding mouth end of the forehead, medium and large; the upper and lower jaws have a column of tapered teeth, and a pair of large canine teeth at the front end; the edge of the front gill cap is serrated, the left and right gill membranes are healed, and the body is large round scales that do not meet the isthmus. The adult dorsal fin and the posterior part of the fin are extended up to the base of the caudal fin; the caudal fin is rounded; and the ventral fin of the old adult reaches behind the anus. Juveniles are pale green with black streaks on each scale and 2 black stripes on the back of the eyes. Adults are green with yellow-green and gray-green transverse lines on each scale on the side of the body, orange and green reticulated lines on the head, thin oblique lines in the dense part of the odd fin, and yellow on the posterior margin of the caudal fin.
It mainly inhabits very steep reef slopes, flowway slopes and lagoon reef rocks, with depths ranging from 2-60 meters. Usually occurs alone, occasionally in pairs. It is a large species in the family Diplodocus, with a gentle personality and easy to get close to people. Carnivorous, with fish and benthic animals as its main diet.
The corrugated lipfish is a famous giant fish that survives in the coastal waters of the tropics. It is found in Oceania, the tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean, the Great Barrier Reef, the northwestern Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. Its huge size is delicious and is used as a valuable edible fish, and it can also be used as an ornamental fish in aquariums or large display fish tanks.
Corrugated lip fish are generally up to 2.5 meters long and weigh up to 190 kg. The body is long and flattened, and the contour of the back of the head is straight from the snout to the eye, and the posterior position is convex. Juveniles do not have a bulge on their heads, and adults develop with a prominent raised bulge on their foreheads. The pectoral fin is short; the caudal fin is rounded. The body is yellowish brown to green , with dark straight lines on the scales. The head has two black lines that extend diagonally from the top of the eye backwards upwards. Two other black lines stretch from the front of the eye to the bottom of the snout. Adult corrugated lip fish body markings are obvious and colorful, and each corrugated lip fish has a unique pattern on the face, which radiates outward from the eyes, just like human fingerprints.
The corrugated lip fish is a large longhead fish, more famous in China by the name of the Su mei fish, "Su Mei" derived from the two stripes like eyebrows behind the eyes of this fish. And because the forehead is high and bulging, like the hat worn by Napoleon, it is called "Napoleon". The adult's eyes are small and located on the upper side of the head, the space between the two eyes is very raised, the body is elongated and oblong; the head contour is straight from the back to the eye, and then protrudes; the adult forehead is prominent. The mouth is large obliquely lobed , with a column of tapered teeth on the upper and lower jaws , a pair of large canine teeth at the front end , and a serrated edge of the anterior gill cap. The body is covered with large round scales. The caudal fin has a rounded margin , a dark green color on the head and neck , a yellowish-green color on the sides of the body , and dark wavy transverse stripes on the posterior half of the body. Juveniles are dark blue , with many scarlet stripes on the head and abdomen , and purple stripes at the end of the scales of the body. The head has two parallel black bands passing through the eyes. There are 9 dorsal spines, 10 dorsal fin soft strips, 3 fin spines, and 8 fin soft strips.
Usually solitary, but may sometimes occur in pairs. Adults cruise between reefs during the day and under reef caves and coral shelves at night. Although the corrugated lip fish is the largest reef fish, it is easily frightened and burrows into coral reefs to seek safety when frightened. The corrugated lip fish has a gentle temperament and is easy to get close to people. Popular with diving enthusiasts as they can even allow divers to touch it. [1] [3]
Corrugated lipfish have a whole set of techniques for dealing with prey. If the prey hides in the crevices of the reef, it will extend its jaw to clamp the prey tightly and drag it out. For stealthy prey, it will bite off the coral branches where the prey is hiding, or blow away the cover such as sediment by spraying strong water currents to catch the prey. If the prey burrows under the stone, the corrugated lip fish will turn the stone over with a strong jaw, and it will also use its hard pharyngeal teeth to crush the hard shell of the shelled animal.
Carnivorous. The corrugated lip fish has a wide range of diets, feeding on fish and benthic animals, as well as many species of invertebrates. Food includes mollusks, fish, sea urchins, crustaceans and other invertebrates. In addition to fish, it also includes many poisonous and spiny animals, such as sea urchins, crown of thorns starfish, hard scaled fish, and sea hares. Corrugated lip fish will not be poisoned after eating these poisonous animals, but the toxin will accumulate in the corrugated lip fish, and consumers will be poisoned if they eat the corrugated lip fish that has not cleaned up the toxins.
The growth period of corrugated lip fish is long, generally taking 7-8 years, the reproductive period is 4-7 months, and the spawning fish can reach 80,000-120,000 grains. This species can survive for at least 30 years (males 25 years old, females 32 years old) and sexually mature after 6 years. An important feature of hermaphrodite female pre-mature fish is that they can change sex over a certain period of time. Most corrugated lipfish remain gender-exclusive after birth, with only a small percentage of adult female corrugated lipfish having the opportunity to become male, and the larger female corrugated lipfish in this small group have the opportunity to become super-male, which often occurs when another super-male corrugated lip fish leader dies. The super male corrugated lipfish is the leader of a group of corrugated lipfish, which is larger than all other male corrugated lipfish and has a unique color and pattern.
Corrugated lip fish will breed in groups during the breeding season when the new moon rises, and the super-male corrugated lip fish will mate with most female corrugated lip fish. The super male corrugated lipfish is also responsible for patrolling its territory, and once another group of corrugated lipfish invades, it will violently expel the invading male corrugated lipfish and mate with the female corrugated lip fish in the invading group.
Unlike many migratory fish, they do not spawn at birth, and their entire mating and spawning process is short, no more than a day. After mating and spawning, the fertilized eggs float into the marine photosynthetic zone, where they hatch into juveniles. Juveniles generally live in lagoons rich in inner coral polyps and swim to the outer shores as adults.
Corrugated lip fish is a high-grade ornamental fish, but also a high-grade edible fish, due to the shortage of resources, the price is expensive, suitable for high-end banquets, its meat is delicate, especially tender. Live fish between 5 kg are the most valuable, and the market price is close to that of humpback bass. It is best to steam. This dish is specially prepared with ham and shiitake mushrooms. For many years, the corrugated lip fish has been a delicacy on the plate of many Asians. Due to the surge in demand, the price of this fish has risen to $100 per kilogram. The huge profits attracted a large number of people to catch corrugated lip fish, and in just a few years, the corrugated lip fish was on the verge of extinction.