Pearly Wrasse

Interesting Info

• The Pearly Wrasse is found in Australia from Shark Bay in Western Australia across to Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea, and along Queensland south to northern New South Wales, including Lord Howe Island.
• Females and juveniles are olive with irregular white blotches and a pink belly patch, while males develop a striking green body with orange-red spots, losing the pink markings as they mature.
• A key identification mark is the pink horizontal band below the eye, along with a yellow or blue-rimmed ocellus (false eye spot) in the middle of the dorsal fin.
• The common name “Pearly Wrasse” comes from the pearly, pinkish blotches that shimmer along the body in shallow sunlight.
• This species is most often seen darting about shallow, weedy reef flats and rocky shores in the surge zone, foraging during the day.
• Its diet includes small crustaceans, molluscs, polychaete worms, tiny fishes, and even fish eggs.
• Like many wrasses, it can dive quickly into sand to hide from predators or to sleep at night, a behaviour often spotted by divers.
• The Pearly Wrasse is a protogynous hermaphrodite, starting life as female before some individuals transition to males, with spawning thought to occur in pairs.
• Lifespan data is not well documented, but like other small wrasses it likely lives several years in the wild.
• It plays an important ecological role in controlling small invertebrate populations, while itself being preyed upon by larger reef fishes.
• It can be recognised underwater by its rapid darting movements and the habit of hugging surge-washed weed beds and rocky crests.