Species Fact Profile: Humphead Wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus)

Humphead Wrasse (Napoleon Wrasse, Maori Wrasse)

Cheilinus undulatus (Ruppell, 1835)

Range: Coral Reefs
Habitat: Indian Ocean, Eastern Pacific Ocean
Diet: Mollusks, Fish, Sea Urchins, Crustaceans
Social Grouping: Solitary, Paired, Small Schools
Reproduction: Born as females, but some will change their sex to become males (trigger for the change is unknown).  Mating groups of over 100 individuals spawn, releasing eggs into the water.  Larvae settle onto sea floor, are sexually mature by 5-7 years old
Lifespan: 30-50 Years
Conservation Status: IUCN Endangered, CITES Appendix II

• Largest member of the wrasse family.  Grow up to 2.3 meters long and weigh up to 190 kilograms. Males are typically larger than females
• Color ranges from green to blue or purple, with varying brightness and mottling of red or yellow.  The forehead of the fish had a lump-like protrusion, the source of the common name
• Active by day, seek shelter at night in caves or on secluded ledges
• Immune to the toxic spines of many invertebrates, including the crown-of-thorns starfish.  This makes the wrasse one of the few predators of a species which has the potential to destroy coral reefs if left unchecked
• May use tools to crack open their prey, carrying urchins to a rock and striking the prey against it to break it open
• Sometimes engage in cooperative hunting with roving coral groupers, or follow stingrays to feed on small animals flushed by the hunting rays
• Uncommon over most of wide range and appears to be in decline.  Primary threat is overfishing, especially through the live reef fish food trade, in which the fish are captured using cyanide poisoning, devastating the reefs.  These fish can sell for $100 US per kilogram