Thalassoma purpureum

English: Surge Wrasse (1); Hawaiian: hou (1)

As recorded: Thalassoma purpureum (Forsskål, 1775)

Animalia › Chordata › Perciformes › Labridae

Collected by: A. Seale
Date: February 1, 1902
Locality: Rarotonga
Island: Rarotonga
Record type: Preserved specimen

76 Bishop specimens of Thalassoma purpureum · collected 1900–1996Species page ›

Collected the same day

On February 1, 1902, A. Seale also collected 24+ other specimens.

Thalassoma purpureum observed alive

This specimen was collected in 1902. Since 2000, iNaturalist observers have recorded 916 research-grade sightings in the wild, most recently on 2026-10-27.

2026-10-27

Cockburn, WA, Australia

(c) Alex Fox, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)

2026-10-21

Isabela, EC-GA, EC

(c) Kaveer B, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

2026-10-19

North Pacific Ocean, Pūpūkea, HI, US

(c) thegeckoguy907, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

2026-10-16

North Shore, Waialua, HI, USA

(c) Sam Buswell, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

2026-10-16

Green Island/Nancy Cove, Rottnest Island

(c) Grady Duffy, some rights reserved (CC BY)

2026-10-15

Little Salmon Bay, Rottnest Island

(c) Grady Duffy, some rights reserved (CC BY)

Observations and photos from iNaturalist, shown only when openly licensed.

Cite this specimen

Thalassoma purpureum. BPBM 1939. Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Honolulu. GBIF occurrence 39122999. Accessed via explore.bishopmuseum.org/specimens/i/1939.

Record sources

GBIF occurrence 39122999 ↗
Data license: CC0
Last harvested October 26, 2026