Plectorhinchus albovittatus
Chunky reef fish with bold facial stripes, most reliably logged around Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, in warm 25 to 29 C water.
A heavy-bodied fish reaching around 70 cm, with a blunt face, thick white or pale lips and dark grey to blackish-brown flanks that can look almost black in low light. The steep forehead profile and puffy lip line are the quickest tell underwater, especially when it hangs motionless under a ledge. Juveniles carry a very different look, with bold black and white or yellow blotchy patterning that fades as the fish matures into its plainer adult colouring.
Usually found parked under coral ledges or overhangs during the day, often alone or loosely paired, doing very little until dusk approaches. It tends to sit tight and let divers pass rather than bolting, though it will drift off into open water or deeper shadow if approached too directly. Sightings run roughly evenly between uncommon and common depending on the site, so it is worth a slow look under every likely ledge rather than expecting it in open water.
Like other sweetlips, it feeds mainly at night on invertebrates picked off the sand and rubble, which is why daytime dives usually find it resting rather than foraging.
No clear seasonal pattern shows up in the sightings, and with a comfortable range of 25.4 to 29.2 C it stays on tropical reefs year-round, so any month is fair game at the sites above.
Reef neighbours a diver could mistake it for. Use the identification notes above to tell them apart.
Most consistently logged around Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, which accounts for the bulk of sightings, with further reliable records from Raja Ampat and Bali. Outside Indonesia, divers also find them on reefs in Queensland, Australia, and around Shimoni, Kenya.
Mapping where Giant Sweetlips is logged…
Nusa Tenggara in Indonesia is the strongest area for sightings, with additional records from Raja Ampat and Bali. Queensland in Australia and Shimoni in Kenya also produce regular sightings.
There is no strong seasonal pattern in the sightings, and the species tolerates a wide warm-water range of about 25 to 29 C, so it turns up on tropical reefs throughout the year.
Look for a heavy-bodied fish around 70 cm with a steep forehead, thick pale lips and a dark grey to almost black body, usually resting still under a coral ledge.
They typically reach around 70 cm in length, making them one of the larger sweetlips species divers encounter on reef ledges.
Juveniles look nothing like the plain dark adults, sporting bold black, white or yellow blotches and an odd fluttering swim, a disguise that shifts completely as they mature.
Site and sighting data is aggregated from diver logs, iNaturalist and GBIF. For taxonomy and conservation status:
Plectorhinchus vittatus
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