Napoleon Wrasse

Napoleon Wrasse

The Napoleon Wrasse, also known as the Maori Wrasse, Napoleon Fish or Humphead Wrasse, is found -living in and around coral formations in the Indo-Pacific region. This fish is the largest member of the Labridae family, reaching lengths of up to one or two meters for the females and males respectively.

Napoleons are usually a bluish green in color, with enlarged lips and a hump on its head, just above the eyes. Females, by contrast, are orange-red in color. They thrive among coral, where they prey on small crustaceans, mollusks and fish, and they are also one of the few marine creatures in the world that feed on poisonous boxfish and sea hares.

Despite their longevity, the Napoleon Wrasse has a slow reproductive cycle, and numbers are unfortunately dwindling and the fish is classified as a threatened reef fish. Commercial fishing of the species is now banned in most countries and the Maldives banned the export of the fish in 1995.