New arrival... Cheilinus undulatus


Common Name: Napoleon Wrasse, Hump-headed Wrasse

Size Range: up to 229 cm and 190.5 kg in weight

More Info: The Napoleon Wrasse is the biggest of the wrasses and can weigh up to 400 lbs. They are a very distinctive fish that start life as males. Later on they become females. When a vacancy comes open on the reef, one of the females becomes a "super-male" which is large and has a distinctive head. Adults generally occur along outer reef slopes and deep channels, occasionally in lagoons, from 2 to 60 m. They appear to have a home cave to which they return for protection and sleep. Juveniles tend to inhabit coral-rich areas of shallow lagoons and bays. This species occurs singly or in pairs and feeds on a wide variety of well-armored invertebrates, particularly molluscs, crustaceans, and sea urchins, as well as on small fishes. It is one of the few known predators of such toxic animals as the Crown-of-thorns Starfish, boxfishes, and sea hares. Large adults develop a prominent bump on their foreheads.


Photos:












The wrasse's plasma (part of its blood) was, unexpectedly BLUE!





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