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 earlei	Cirrhilabrus exquisitus
Cirrhilabrus exquisitus female	Cirrhilabrus johnsoni male	Cirrhilabrus johnsoni females (& males)
Cirrhilabrus katherinae	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 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 amblycephalus terminal male	Thalassoma amblycephalus initial phase	Thalassoma amblycephalus 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