Wrasse

The wrasses are a <a href="/facts/Family_(biology)/qTrn6E8E">family</a>, Labridae, of marine <a href="/facts/Ray-finned_fish/3PNaXXmJ">ray-finned fish</a>, many of which are brightly colored. The family is large and diverse, with over 600 species in 81 genera, which are divided into nine subgroups or tribes.
They are typically small, most of them less than 20 cm (7.9 in) long, although the largest, the <a href="/facts/Humphead_wrasse/K08E5ws4">humphead wrasse</a>, can measure up to 2.5 m (8.2 ft). They are efficient carnivores, feeding on a wide range of small <a href="/facts/Invertebrate/3CyqCVnN">invertebrates</a>. Many smaller wrasses follow the feeding trails of larger fish, picking up invertebrates disturbed by their passing. Juveniles of some representatives of the genera <a href="/facts/Bodianus/0k7jaejp">Bodianus</a>, <a href="/facts/Epibulus/bKy5AXcr">Epibulus</a>, <a href="/facts/Cirrhilabrus/TFoT0uGX">Cirrhilabrus</a>, <a href="/facts/Oxycheilinus/7QhJurma">Oxycheilinus</a>, and <a href="/facts/Paracheilinus/nJUW5lD5">Paracheilinus</a> hide among the tentacles of the free-living <a href="/facts/Mushroom_coral/BStPgYPM">mushroom corals</a> and <a href="/facts/Heliofungia_actiniformis/NLKUSBfG">Heliofungia actiniformis</a>.

Wrasse open-in-new

Wrasse