| The wrasse family includes over 500 species worldwide and is often the most numerous fish family on the coral reef. Eighteen species of wrasse make their home in Tropical Western Atlantic waters. The wrasse family, Labridae, includes three groups of the most commonly seen fishes on Caribbean coral reefs. These include: the typical wrasses, such as bluehead, yellowhead and creole, the hogfishes, and the razorfishes. |
| Wrasses are very diverse in size and shape, but the typical Caribbean wrasse is a colorful, three-to six inch cigar-shaped fish. |
| Wrasse, like parrotfish, have large scales and swim primarily with their pectoral fins. They use their tail fins only for burst of speed. They are often quite colorful and change their sex from female to male when certain age, growth or social criteria are met. But unlike parrotfish, which scrape algae from rocks with fused beaks, most wrasse are carnivores and feed on hard-shelled invertebrates including crabs, snails, shrimp and worms. They have a prominent set of canine teeth for grasping prey and powerful pharyngeal teeth (teeth in their throat) to easily crush hard food. All wrasse have a noticeable set of canine teeth which give them a “bucktooth” appearance. |
| Some Wrasse females have the ability to change into terminal males (but they can’t go back). The wrasses have three distinct phases representing their social status; the juvenile phase, consisting of sexually immature youngsters that nearly always live separately from adults; the initial phase, including sexually mature adults that are usually female; and the terminal males, nearly always the largest, brightest, most aggressive and least numerous individuals. |
| Wrasse swim busily in mixed groups around the coral heads during the daylight hours. The Creole Wrasse is the only species that schools in open water feeding on zooplankton. At night, many wrasse bury themselves in the sand to avoid predators. |
