PEACOCK RAZOR WRASSE black form · laenihi
Iniistius pavo (Valenciennes, 1840)
    This common razor wrasse is usually light in color with faint gray bars, a whitish patch on the side, and a small black spot above the pectoral fin. Juveniles are darker and variable in color, but generally brownish rather than black. Occasionally, however, divers encounter adults or juveniles that are completely black. This black form was at one time thought to be a separate species under the name Xyrichtys niger.
      The Peacock Razor Wrasse is distinguished from all other razor wrasses by the long dorsal filament which it can flick up and down. This dorsal filament is evident in the 2nd photo of a juvenile, but is not visible in the upper photo. We cannot be completely sure, therefore, that the upper photo is actually I. pavo. It seems that other razor wrasse species in Hawai`i can turn black as well.See the photo at bottom which I took at 70 ft. off Pupukea, O`ahu. It clearly is not I. pavo and is most likely a Blackside Razor Wrasse (Iniistius umbrilatus) as there were others of that species in the immediate vicinity. John Earle reports having once seen an all-black a Whiteside Razor Wrasse (I. aneitensis).
      The two upper photos were taken by Fernando Lopez Arbarello off west Maui at about. 30 ft.