WHATSTHATFISH
Bony fish

Floral Wrasse

Cheilinus chlorourus

Also known as: Dotted Wrasse, Floral Maori Wrasse, Maori Wrasse, Rainbowfish, Red-spotted Maori Wrasse, Thicklip Wrasse, Tripletail Wrasse, White-dotted Maori, White-dotted Wrasse, White-dotted Maori Wrasse, Yellow-dotted Maori Wrasse, Yellow-dotted Wrasse, Yellow-spotted Maori Wrasse

LCLeast ConcernIUCN Red List, 2010
Adult
@fishx6 · Challenger Bay - Great Barrier Reef, Australia · July 20091 / 45
01

Overview

Found singly or in pairs, over mixed coral, rubble, sand, and seagrass beds, of lagoons and coastal reefs.

Most reef fish seen by divers during the day, are grazers, they cruise around, just above the surface of the coral, or snoop into crevices, foraging for food.
Wrasses have small protruding teeth, which they use to graze the bottom, taking in a variety of algae, crustaceans, such as crabs, eggs, shrimps, snails and worms. Any hard coats or thick shells, are then ground down by their pharyngeal jaws, and the delicacies inside digested.
From juvenile to adult, wrasses dramatically alter their colour and body shapes.
Wrasses are always on the go during the day, but are the first to go to bed and the last to rise.
Small wrasses dive below the sand to sleep, and larger wrasses wedge themselves in crevices.

02

How to identify

Behaviour
pairssolitary

Tap any trait to see other fish that share it.

03

Habitat & where to find it

  • Range · Indo-Pacific
  • Exact location · 3
  • Country only · 42
LIVES IN

Found singly or in pairs, over mixed coral, rubble, sand, and seagrass beds, of lagoons and coastal reefs.

04

Adult photos 45

05

Discussion

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    ALL STAGES
    FOR THE MARINE-BIOLOGY CURIOUS

    Deep dive

    Taxonomy

    1. kingdomAnimalia
    2. phylumChordata
    3. classTeleostei
    4. orderEupercaria incertae sedis
    5. familyLabridae
    6. genusCheilinus
    7. speciesCheilinus chlorourus (Bloch, 1791)

    SourcesWoRMSFishBase

    06

    More in the family

    Wrasses (Labridae)