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Family Labridae
Wrasses
INDO-PACIFIC
Coris gaimard
Juvenile, Ke'ei, Hawaii, 30 feet
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Juvenile, Waimea Bay, Oahu, 30 feet |
Juvenile, Firehouse, Oahu, 35 feet
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Subadult, Waimea Bay, Oahu, 30 feet |
Subadult, Koloa Landing, Kauai, 40 feet
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Subadult, Sea Cave, Oahu, 65 feet
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Female, Kahe Point, Oahu, 30 feet
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Male, Kaiwi Point, Hawaii, 45 feet |
Male, Sea Cave, Oahu, 65 feet
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Female, Hanauma Bay, Oahu, 25 feet |
Female, Hanauma Bay, Oahu, 25 feet
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YELLOWTAIL CORIS
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Fairly common on reefs. Coloration changed greatly with
age. Attains 12 inches. Indonesia to Southern Japan,
Hawaii and the Tuamotus.
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Halichoeres ornatissimus
Juvenile, Kahe Point, Oahu, Hawaii, 35 feet
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Female, Makaha, 40 feet
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Female, Waimea Bay, Oahu, 30 feet
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Male, Turtle Canyon, Waikiki, 30 feet |
Subadult, Makua, Oahu, 30 feet |
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ORNATE WRASSE
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Locally common on reefs, especially neon green
juveniles during summer months. Intensity of neon green decreases
with age. Two dark round spots on soft dorsal fin when
young. Attains 6 inches. Hawaii, Central & Western
Pacific.
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Thalassoma
hardwicke
Male, Tafananai, American Samoa, 5 feet
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Female, Faga'alu, Tutuila, Samoa, 5 feet
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SIXBAR WRASSE
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Common on shallow reefs.
Attains 10 inches. Indo-Pacific to Southern Japan.
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Thalassoma quinquevittatum
Breakers Point, American Samoa, 15 feet |
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FIVESTRIPE WRASSE
| Fairly common in shallow
water exposed to surge. Attains 5 inches. Hawaii, Ryukyus & the Indo-Pacific. |
Thalassoma trilobatum
Male, Hanauma Bay, Oahu, 25 feet
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Male, Hanauma Bay, Oahu, 5 feet |
Makapu'u tidepool, Oahu
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Female, Hanauma Bay, Oahu, 5 feet
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CHRISTMAS
WRASSE
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Fairly common in shallow water. Female is nearly identical to
the Surge wrasse with a nearly oval red-brown mark ahead of the
eye. Attains 12 inches. Hawaii, Ryukyus & the Indo-Pacific.
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Thalassoma purpureum
Female, Midway Lagoon, 5 feet |
Male, Hanauma Bay, Oahu, 5 feet |
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SURGE
WRASSE
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Uncommon in shallow water exposed to wave action.
Female is nearly identical to the Christmas wrasse and has only
reddish-brown spots ahead of the eye. Attains 17 inches.
Hawaii, Southern Japan & the Indo-Pacific.
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Thalassoma lutescens
Male, Shinagawa Aquarium, Tokyo, Japan |
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SUNSET WRASSE
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Common on coral reefs.
Females are greenish and both sexes have pink radiating lines on the
head. Attains 9 inches.. Sri Lanka, Hawaii & Southern
Japan, SE Australia to Rapa.
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Thalassoma lunare
Wakatobi, Indonesia, 10 feet
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MOON WRASSE
| Common on reef tops in shallow water. Attains 10 inches.
Red Sea to Southern Japan, Line Islands, GBR & Tonga. |
Pseudojuloides cerasinus
Female, Palea Point, Oahu, 50 feet
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Female, Kewalo Hump, Oahu, 90 feet |
Male, Palea Point, Oahu, 50 feet |
Male, Angel Ledge, Midway, 95 feet
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Kewalo Hump, Oahu, 90 feet |
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SMALLTAIL or PENCIL WRASSE
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Locally common over rubble & dead coral deeper
than 40 feet. Male maintains harem of females.
Attains 5 inches. Hawaii, Southern Japan & the
Indo-Pacific.
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Gomphosus varius
Female, Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii, 10 feet
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Female, Kahalu'u, Hawaii, 35 feet
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Male, Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii, 10 feet
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Male, Hanauma Bay, Oahu, 25 feet
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Juvenile, Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii, 10 feet |
Male, Hanauma Bay, Oahu, 25 feet |
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BIRD WRASSE
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Fairly common on shallow reefs.
Transitional fish are
reddish-brown to emerald green. Attains 12 inches. Eastern
Indian Ocean to Southern Japan, Hawaii, & Pitcairn Island.
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Cheilio inermis
Yellow Female, Hanauma Bay, 25 feet
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Male, Hanauma Bay, 40 feet |
Female, Wakatobi, Indonesia, 5 feet |
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CIGAR WRASSE
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Locally common on seaweed-covered reefs and rubble areas.
Females usually striped with brown and tan; rarely yellow.
Males gray with yellowish area behind pectoral fins. Feeds upon small reef
fishes. Attains 20 inches. Difficult to approach.
Hawaii Southern Japan & the Indo-Pacific.
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Novaculichthys
taeniourus
Juvenile, Kahalu'u, Hawaii, 5 feet |
Juvenile, Kea'au, Oahu, 50 feet |
Hanauma Bay, Oahu, 5 feet |
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ROCKMOVER
WRASSE
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Uncommon on rubble and rocky reefs. Juveniles
vary in color and resemble drifting seaweed. Turns stones in
search of invertebrates. Indo-Pacific including Hawaii and the
tropical Eastern Pacific. Up to 12 inches.
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Epibulus insidiator
Juvenile, Pearl & Hermes Reef, NWHI, 75
feet
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Male, Mamanuca Is., Fiji, |
Male, Wakatobi, Indonesia, 30 feet |
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SLINGJAW WRASSE
| Mouth extremely long and protrusible, color
variable. Found in the
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands from French Frigate Shoals
(uncommon) north to Midway (rare), it is quite common throughout the Indo-Pacific.
Juveniles are dark brown or
yellow; adults with orange to white. Attains 14 inches. |
Oxycheilinus bimaculatus
Koloa Landing, Kauai, 40 feet
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Kahe Point, Oahu, 40 feet |
Kahe Point, Oahu, 30 feet
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Male, Kewalo, Oahu, 50 feet |
Male, Kewalo, Oahu, 50 feet |
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TWOSPOT WRASSE
| Males have an extended upper caudal lobe.
Locally common in barren areas at deeper scuba depths. Attains 4 inches. Hawaii,
Southern Japan & the Indo-Pacific. |
Oxycheilinus unifasciatus
Juvenile, Cargo Pier, Midway Atoll, 20 feet
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Puako, Hawaii, 45 feet |
Maui Ocean Center
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Kona Village, 35 feet |
Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii, 20 feet |
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RINGTAIL WRASSE
| White band around caudal
peduncle, young are gray, becoming more colorful with age.
More common along Maui & Hawaii Island. Known to cause Ciguatera
Poisoning and should not
be eaten. Attains 18 inches.
Hawaii, Ryukyus, GBR to French Polynesia. |
Oxycheilinus celebicus
Wakatobi, Indonesia, 40 feet |
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SULAWESI WRASSE
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Inhabits protected reefs at scuba depths. Attains 8 inches.
Sulawesi, Ryukyus to New Caledonia & Micronesia.
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Pseudocheilinus tetrataenia
Kahe Point, Oahu, 40 feet |
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FOUR-LINED WRASSE
| A common but shy fish among Finger
coral at scuba depths. Attains 2.5 inches. Hawaii,
Minami-tori-shima, Micronesia, to New Caledonia & Pitcairn. |
Pseudocheilinus evanidus
Coconut Point, Nu'uuli, American Samoa, 60 feet |
Sea Tiger, Oahu, 120 feet |
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CHINSTRAP or EVAN'S WRASSE
| Appears reddish brown underwater with many fine white stripes.
Locally common among rubble & Finger
coral at scuba depths. Attains 4 inches. Hawaii &
the Indo-Pacific. |
Pseudocheilinus octotaenia
Juvenile, Kea'au, Oahu, 50 feet
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Palea Point, Oahu, 30 feet |
Lanai Lookout, Oahu, 40 feet |
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EIGHT-LINED WRASSE
| Locally common among Finger coral and
rubble at scuba depths. Attains 5 inches. Hawaii, Yaeyama
Islands & the
Indo-Pacific. |
Labroides dimidiatus
Utulei, American Samoa, 20 feet |
Yellow morph, Rainmaker, Tutuila, Samoa, 40 feet |
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STRIPED CLEANER WRASSE
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Common on reefs. Cleans
parasites on other fishes. Attains 4.5 inches. Indo-Pacific
to Southern Japan.
Regional color
variations exist including yellow- tailed morph in Samoa.
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Halichoeres
prosopeion
Juvenile, Moon Beach, Okinawa, Japan, 10 feet |
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TWO-TONE WRASSE
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Common on coral reefs. Attains 6 inches.
Southern Japan to Australia & Samoa.
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Halichoeres
trimaculatus
Subadult, Faga'alu, Tutuila, Samoa, 5 feet |
Male, Faga'alu, Tutuila, Samoa, 5 feet |
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THREESPOT WRASSE
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Common on shallow sandy reefs. Attains
11 inches. GBR to Japan & Polynesia, except Hawaii.
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Hologymnosus doliatus
Juvenile, Maeda Point, Okinawa, 30 feet |
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PASTEL RINGWRASSE
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Occasional over rubble or sand near reefs.
Attains 19 inches. East Africa to Southern Japan, GBR, Line Islands & Samoa.
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Pseudodax moluccanus
Wakatobi, Indonesia, 50 feet |
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CHISELTOOTH WRASSE
| Uncommon along dropoffs. Attains 12 inches. Red Sea
& the Indo-Pacific. |
Bodianus
mesothorax
Juvenile, Dumaguete, Philippines |
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SPLITLEVEL HOGFISH
| Attains 8 inches. Indonesia to Japan & Fiji. |
Macropharyngodon
meleagris
Juvenile, Dumaguete, Philippines
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BLACKSPOTTED WRASSE
| Inhabits patch reefs & rubble. Attains 6 inches.
Japan to Australia, Melanesia & Polynesia, except Hawaii. |
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