Sealife guideThe ornate wrasseThalassoma pavo
Last updated on 08/19/2024 at 10:17 PM
Taxonomy
- Common name: Ornate wrasse, Turkish wrasse
- French name: Girelle paon
- Scientific name: Thalassoma pavo (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Family name: Labridae
- Order name: Perciformes
- Class name: Actinopterygii
Description
The ornate wrasse measures around 6 inches with a maximum length of 10 inches. The ornate wrasse is a fish with an elongated body.
The ornate wrasse is a brightly colored fish whose livery varies according to its sex:
- The color of the dorsal part of the female's body varies from brownish to orange, interspersed with 5 to 6 bright blue vertical stripes
- The male's body color is entirely greenish with a bright blue border
Geographic range
The ornate wrasse is found along the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean.
Habitat
The ornate wrasse is a mostly solitary fish that sometimes lives in small groups. It lives near rocky bottoms and Posidonia seagrass beds.
The ornate wrasse is primarily found from the surface down to about 164 feet deep.
Diet
The ornate wrasse feeds mainly on small invertebrates such as
crustaceans,
mollusks and worms, which it finds on the surface of rock faces.
Reproduction
The ornate wrasse is a
hermaphroditic fish, sometimes born female, sometimes male.
Did you know ?
The ornate wrasse is listed as many other marine species within The
IUCN Red List of threatened species. The ornate wrasse appears in the
IUCN Red List since 2010 within the category Least Concern !
Tips for observing
The male ornate wrasse is a sedentary fish and you'll have no trouble finding it in its territory once discovered and observed.
Within the same genus
Jansen's wrasse
(Thalassoma jansenii)
Klunzinger's wrasse
(Thalassoma rueppellii)
Moon wrasse
(Thalassoma lunare)
Saddle wrasse
(Thalassoma duperrey)
Sixbar wrasse
(Thalassoma hardwicke)
Sunset wrasse
(Thalassoma lutescens)
Surge wrasse
(Thalassoma purpureum)
Within the same family
Bluespotted wrasse
(Anampses caeruleopunctatus)
California sheephead
(Bodianus pulcher)
Canary wrasse
(Halichoeres chrysus)
Clown coris
(Coris aygula)
Mental wrasse
(Oxycheilinus mentalis)
Six line wrasse
(Pseudocheilinus hexataenia)
Spanish hogfish
(Bodianus rufus)
Tail-spot wrasse
(Halichoeres melanurus)
Discover also
Black axil chromis
(Chromis atripectoralis)
Goldback damselfish
(Pomacentrus nigromanus)
Leaf scorpionfish
(Taenianotus triacanthus)
Semicircle angelfish
(Pomacanthus semicirculatus)
Stoplight parrotfish
(Sparisoma viride)
Tomato grouper
(Cephalopholis sonnerati)
Yellow chromis
(Chromis analis)
Yellowtail damselfish
(Microspathodon chrysurus)
The marine species from Mediterranean sea
Black scorpionfish
(Scorpaena porcus)
Cardinalfish
(Apogon imberbis)
Common bottlenose dolphin
(Tursiops truncatus)
Compass jellyfish
(Chrysaora hysoscella)
Five-spotted wrasse
(Symphodus roissali)
Long-finned pilot whale
(Globicephala melas)
Mediterranean rainbow wrasse
(Coris julis)
Moon jellyfish
(Aurelia aurita)
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