Redspot Wrasse

Interesting Info

• The Redspot Wrasse is a small reef fish found across the Indo-Pacific, including northern Australia from Western Australia through the Northern Territory and Queensland.
• It grows to about 15 cm (5.9 in) in length and is a slender, fast-swimming wrasse that darts quickly between corals and rubble.
• The name comes from the vivid red spot on the upper side of the body, which is most obvious in males and makes them easy to recognise underwater.
• Males are brightly coloured with greenish-blue bodies marked by a red spot behind the gill cover, while females are more subdued, often pale brown or pinkish with faint markings.
• Juveniles are usually duller still, with mottled colours that help them blend into sand and rubble to avoid predators.
• This wrasse feeds on tiny benthic invertebrates, picking at small crustaceans and worms on the reef surface.
• It uses a rapid pecking motion to pick prey, sometimes joining small mixed-species groups to feed more effectively.
• Like many wrasses, the Redspot Wrasse is a protogynous hermaphrodite, starting life as a female and later changing sex into a male when the opportunity arises.
• Breeding occurs in groups, often at the edge of reef flats where males perform displays to attract females, flashing their bright red spots as signals.
• Their lifespan is short, around 3 to 5 years, which is common for small wrasse species.
• The Redspot Wrasse is shy but adds colour to shallow lagoons and reef flats, where snorkellers with a sharp eye may catch glimpses of them darting between coral rubble.