Brownfield’s Wrasse

Interesting Info

• The Brownfield’s Wrasse is found only in Western Australia, from Israelite Bay across the Great Australian Bight up to Exmouth Gulf, including Rottnest Island and Ningaloo Reef.
• Its colours blend in with seaweed and rocks, with a green to brown body, a bold white stripe along the lower side, and a thin broken white line along the back.
• Rows of small dark spots run along the sides, and there are often eye-like spots near the end of the dorsal fin and at the base of the tail.
• This wrasse prefers reefs covered with seaweed and nearby seagrass beds where it searches for tiny animals hiding in the sand and plants.
• It is often seen in large schools feeding together over algae-rich patches and shallow reefs.
• Brownfield’s Wrasse is active during the day and hides with camouflage or quick dashes when predators approach.
• Like many wrasses, they start life as females and some change into males as they grow older and social roles shift.
• Spawning happens in the water column, and the eggs drift as plankton until the larvae settle back on reefs.
• Juveniles look similar to adults but are paler and often hide among seaweed fronds.
• The species was named after Edward John Brownfield, a Western Australian fisheries officer in the mid-1900s.
• Brownfield’s Wrasse is thought to live around 5–7 years on reefs, similar to other small wrasses in the same genus.