Halichoeres sazimai is a new labrid species which was recently described from the western South Atlantic Ocean. The new species was long thought to be a form of Halichoeres bathyphylus whose juveniles are nearly identical to H. sazimai, blue green body with an orange to pink stripe.
The adult phase is easily distinguishable from H. bathyphylus by having a stripe which becomes zig-zagged with age and size. The new species was described from specimens occuring in the southern island of Espirito Santo to Santa Catarina. Halichoeres sazimai is named in honor of famed Brazilian ichthyologist Ivan Sazima and it is described in the recent paper OJ, Jr, Luiz, CEL Ferreira and LA Rocha (2009) Halichoeres sazimai, a new species of wrasse (Perciformes: Labridae) from the Western South Atlantic. Zootaxa 2092, pp. 37–46. Photographs by Osmar Luiz Jr.
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