While snorkelling on the Filitheyo house reef we saw at least five individual Napoleon Wrasses patrolling the reef drop off. In this video we captured the two largest individuals we spotted. We assume male (with the hump) and female.
The Napoleon wrasse, also known as the humphead wrasse is known for its huge size, broad lips, strong teeth, vibrant colors, and the pronounced hump on its forehead.
The Napoleon wrasse is most often found on the steep outer reef drop offs . It can be seen roaming the reef during the day and settled in a reef cave by night.
Not only the largest of the wrasses, it is also one of the largest of the reef fish. It can grow to a length of 7 feet and weigh as much as 420 pounds. However, most males grow to an average length of 6 feet with females being much smaller at a length of 3 feet. Despite its enormous size, it is easily scared off.
An adept predator, it has a rare immunity to toxic sea creatures and often preys on them. Its diet of sea urchins, boxfish, sea hares, and crown-of-thorns starfish would kill most other species, but the Napoleon wrasse eats them with ease.
An adult Napoleon wrasse has the remarkable ability to change its sex. Born with both male and female sex organs, most changes occur female to male. This usually happens when a dominant male dies. A larger female will then turn into a male.
The population of the Napoleon wrasse has gone down fifty percent since 1980. It has also been categorized as endangered on the IUCN Red List.
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