Reef lizardfish (Synodus variegatus) being cleaned by Bluestreak cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus), Papua New Guinea.

---

A Reef lizardfish (Synodus variegatus), rests on its pelvic fins while being cleaned by a Bluestreak cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus). The smaller fish performs a service for the larger lizardfish by removing bits of debris and sometimes even parasites. As shown in this picture, the larger fish flares its' gill openings to indicate accessibility and acceptance to the smaller fish.

---

Size: 5050px × 3328px
Location: New Britain,Papua New Guinea
Photo credit: © Stephen Frink / Aurora Photos / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: actinopterygii, aulopiformes, behavior, bluestreak, cleaner, cleaning, color, conical, dimidiatus, fish, horizontal, image, labridae, labroides, life, lizardfish, marine, mouth, outdoorcollection, reef, saltwater, synodontidae, synodus, teeth, underwater, variegated, variegatus, wrasse