Wrasses, Labridae, Marshall Islands

Marshall Islands Wrasses (Labridae)

The wrasses, family Labridae, constitute a conspicuous group of colorful and active reef fish at Kwaj and on reefs worldwide. Many species have multiple color forms as they transition from juvenile to female to male. Often males and females look so different they were originally described as completely different species before careful observation by divers revealed the true situation. Like the parrotfish, however, sometimes the color form between juvenile and terminal male may contain both males and females, so the term "initial phase" is sometimes used for species where it would take internal examination of the anatomy to distinguish between male and female. Wrasses are carnivores, different species eating a variety of benthic invertebrates and fish. Other species specialize on plankton, while a few species subsist on the parasites and mucus they pick off the bodies of other fish. More information about the individual species can be found on the pages linked below. Unless otherwise noted, sizes given are maximum sizes for the species listed in Fishbase, not necessarily the size of the figured specimen.

Anampses caeruleopunctatus male	Anampses caeruleopunctatus female	Anampses melanurus
Anampses meleagrides	Anampses twistii	Bodianus anthioides
Bodianus axillaris male	Bodianus axillaris juvenile	Bodianus dictynna
Bodianus dictynna juvenile	Bodianus loxozonus	Bodianus mesothorax
Bodianus mesothorax juvenile	Bodianus neopercularis	Bodianus neopercularis juvenile
Cheilinus chlorourus	Cheilinus fasciatus	Cheilinus fasciatus juvenile
Cheilinus oxycephalus	Cheilinus trilobatus	Cheilinus undulatus
Cheilinus undulatus juvenile	Cheilio inermis female	Cirrhilabrus balteatus male
Cirrhilabrus balteatus female	Cirrhilabrus cf balteatus	Cirrhilabrus earlei
Cirrhilabrus exquisitus	Cirrhilabrus exquisitus female	Cirrhilabrus johnsoni male
Cirrhilabrus johnsoni females (& males)	Cirrhilabrus luteovittatus terminal male	Cirrhilabrus luteovittatus subterminal male
Cirrhilabrus rhomboidalis male	Coris aygula male	Coris aygula female
Coris aygula juvenile	Coris batuensis	Coris gaimard male
Coris gaimard female	Coris gaimard juvenile	Cymolutes praetextatus
Cymolutes praetextatus	Cymolutes torquatus	Epibulus insidiator male
Epibulus insidiator female	Epibulus insidiator female	Epibulus insidiator juvenile
Gomphosus varius male	Gomphosus varius initial phase	Gomphosus varius juvenile
Halichoeres annularis	Halichoeres annularis juvenile	Halichoeres biocellatus male
Halichoeres biocellatus female	Halichoeres chrysus female	Halichoeres claudia
Halichoeres hartzfeldii male	Halichoeres hartzfeldii female	Halichoeres hortulanus male
Halichoeres hortulanus juvenile	Halichoeres margaritaceus male	Halichoeres margaritaceus female
Halichoeres melanurus male	Halichoeres melanurus female	Halichoeres melasmapomus male
Halichoeres melasmapomus female	Halichoeres richmondi male	Halichoeres richmondi female
Halichoeres trimaculatus male	Halichoeres trimaculatus female	Hemigymnus fasciatus
Hemigymnus fasciatus juvenile	Hemigymnus melapterus terminal male	Hemigymnus melapterus
Hemigymnus melapterus juvenile	Hemigymnus melapterus small juvenile	Hologymnosus annulatus
Hologymnosus annulatus juvenile	Hologymnosus doliatus juvenile	Iniistius aneitensis
Iniistius aneitensis dark variety	Iniistius aneitensis juvenile	Iniistius celebicus
Iniistius melanopus	Iniistius pavo	Labrichthys unilineatus male
Labrichthys unilineatus female	Labrichthys unilineatus juvenile	Labroides bicolor male
Labroides bicolor female	Labroides bicolor juvenile	Labroides dimidiatus
Labroides pectoralis	Labropsis alleni	Labropsis alleni female
Labropsis micronesica male	Labropsis micronesica female	Labropsis xanthonota male
Labropsis xanthonota female	Macropharyngodon meleagris male	Macropharyngodon meleagris female
Macropharyngodon negrosensis	Novaculichthys taeniourus	Novaculichthys taeniourus juvenile
Novaculops halsteadi	Oxycheilinus arenatus	Oxycheilinus bimaculatus male
Oxycheilinus bimaculatus female	Oxycheilinus celebicus	Oxycheilinus digramma male (?)
Oxycheilinus digramma female	Oxycheilinus orientalis	Oxycheilinus unifasciatus male
Oxycheilinus unifasciatus female(?)	Oxycheilinus unifasciatus juvenile	Paracheilinus bellae male
Pseudocheilinus evanidus	Pseudocheilinus hexataenia	Pseudocheilinus ocellatus
Pseudocheilinus ocellatus	Pseudocheilinus octotaenia	Pseudocheilinus tetrataenia
Pseudocoris yamashiroi male	Pseudocoris yamashiroi female	Pseudodax moluccanus
Pseudodax moluccanus juvenile	Pseudojuloides splendens male	Pseudojuloides splendens female
Pteragogus turdus	Stethojulis bandanensis terminal male	Stethojulis bandanensis initial phase
Stethojulis strigiventer male	Stethojulis strigiventer female	Stethojulis trilineata terminal male
Stethojulis trilineata initial phase	Thalassoma amblycephalum terminal male	Thalassoma amblycephalum initial phase
Thalassoma amblycephalum juvenile	Thalassoma hardwicke terminal male	Thalassoma jansenii
Thalassoma jansenii	Thalassoma lunare terminal male	Thalassoma lunare initial phase
Thalassoma lutescens terminal male	Thalassoma purpureum terminal male	Thalassoma purpureum initial phase
Thalassoma quinquevittatum	Thalassoma trilobatum	Wetmorella albofasciata
Wetmorella nigropinnata	Wetmorella nigropinnata juvenile