Napoleon Wrasse

Photo: David Roche · CC BY-NC

Large Napoleon wrasse — up to a metre in length — patrol the mid-sections of Flagstaff Wall between 15 and 30 metres, the site's most charismatic resident species and one that approaches divers with the confident curiosity of an animal that has never been targeted by spearfishing. They feed on the hard-shelled invertebrates that encrust the wall face, including spiny urchins and molluscs that their powerful pharyngeal jaw plates can crush. Their presence as large, old individuals is a strong indicator of a protected, undisturbed reef — Napoleon wrasse are among the first species to disappear when human exploitation pressure increases.