Napoleon Wrasse

Photo: David Roche · CC BY-NC

Napoleon wrasse at Daviqele are relaxed, approachable individuals that have benefited from decades of no-take protection across the reef. The largest individuals display the pronounced hump and distinctive blue-green scaling that marks older males, who have transitioned from female earlier in life. Their thick, bony teeth allow them to crush hard-shelled prey including mantis shrimp and crustaceans that smaller reef fish cannot access, placing them in a unique predatory niche in the reef ecosystem.