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
Abudjubbe wrasse
(Cheilinus abudjubbe)
Batu coris
(Coris batuensis)
Floral wrasse
(Cheilinus chlorourus)
Red sea thicklip wrasse
(Hemigymnus sexfasciatus)
Rockmover wrasse
(Novaculichthys taeniourus)
Rosy razorfish
(Xyrichtys martinicensis)
Tail-spot wrasse
(Halichoeres melanurus)
Yellowhead wrasse
(Halichoeres garnoti)
Discover also
Atlantic sailfish
(Istiophorus albicans)
Blackback butterflyfish
(Chaetodon melannotus)
Common snook
(Centropomus undecimalis)
Gorgonian goby
(Bryaninops amplus)
Longfin damselfish
(Stegastes diencaeus)
Narrowstripe cardinalfish
(Pristiapogon exostigma)
Sailfin snapper
(Symphorichthys spilurus)
Whitebelly damselfish
(Amblyglyphidodon leucogaster)
The marine species from Mediterranean sea
Giant doris
(Felimare picta)
Giant salp
(Salpa maxima)
Moon jellyfish
(Aurelia aurita)
Neptune grass
(Posidonia oceanica)
Red scorpionfish
(Scorpaena scrofa)
Tompot blenny
(Parablennius gattorugine)
Yellow sponge Clathrina
(Clathrina clathrus)
Yellowmouth barracuda
(Sphyraena viridensis)
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