65 photos - 28 species


Introduction


 Junkers belong to the wrasse genus.

There are 65 genera and 500 species,

making it the second largest species in the fish family.

They are lively swimmers, always on the move.


Anampses caeruleopunctatus

Blue-spotted wrasse

 Maximum length: 42 cm

Depth: 1 - 30 m

Brown body with blue spots.

Inhabits coral-rich reefs with surf.

Burrows in the sand at night.

Rare and shy.

Photo 1 Johnny: Hurghada Egypt


Anampses meleagrides

Spotted wrasse

Juvenile
Juvenile

Maximum length: 22 cm

Depth: 1 - 60 metres

Can be seen in lagoons, bays and outer reefs.

Feeds on small fish and invertebrates.

Photo 1 Johnny: Hurghada Egypt


Anampses twistii

Yellow-breasted wrasse

 Maximum length: 18 cm

Depth: 0.5 - 30 m

Head and breast are yellow, rest of body with white spots, light-coloured tail.

Solitary fish that is most comfortable near the bottom.

Photo 1 Johnny: Hurghada Egypt


Coris aygula

Clown coris, Clown wrasse, False clownwrasse, Humphead wrasse, Hump-headed wrasse, Red-blotched rainbowfish or Twinspot wrasse

Juvenile
Juvenile
Initial phase ( male )
Initial phase ( male )
Initial phase ( female )
Initial phase ( female )
Female adult
Female adult
Male almost adult
Male almost adult
Male adult
Male adult

 Maximum length: 1 m

Depth: 1 - 50 m

Olive green body with a slightly lighter coloured hind body.

The male has a frontal hump.

Eats hard-shelled invertebrates, which it cracks with its teeth.

They can be seen patrolling the edges of reefs.

Juveniles have a white body with 2 orange spots on the back,

2 black spots on the dorsal fin, small black spots on the head

and on the dorsal and anal fins and 2 black stripes on the caudal fin.

Photos 1 - 6 Johnny: Hurghada Egypt


Coris batuensis

Batu coris, Batu rainbow-wrasse, Variegated wrasse, Dapple coris, Pallid wrasse, Schroeder's coris, Schroeder's rainbow wrasse, Variegated rainbowfish or Yellow wrasse

 Maximum length: 18 cm

Depth: 1 - 20 m

Short dark transverse bands on the upper half of the body.

Small sharp axial spot.

There is an eye spot in the centre of the dorsal fin.

Photos 1 - 2 Johnny: Moalboal Philippines 


Coris caudimacula

Spottail coris

 Maximum length: 20 cm 

Depth: 2 - 25 m

The male is bluish green, the female reddish brown.

Mostly in lagoon reefs over mixed bottoms of rubble, stones, sand and coral.

Eats hard-shelled invertebrates.

Photo 1 Johnny: Hurghada Egypt


Coris cuvieri

African wrasse, African coris or False clownwrasse

Juvenile
Juvenile
Juvenile
Juvenile

Maximum length: 38 cm

Depth: 0.5 - 50 m

Adults are green-brown with green head and horizontal stripes.

They are usually found over sand and rubble near corals.

Juveniles on shallow, sandy areas.

Photos 1 - 2 Johnny: Hurghada Egypt


Coris formosa

Queen coris, Sand wrasse, Queen coris wrasse, Formosan coris, Formosa coris wrasse, Formosa wrasse, Indian ocean wrasse or Indian sand wrasse

 Maximum length: 50 cm

Depth: 2 - 30 m

Between algae and stones in coral reefs.

Photo 1 Johnny: Hurghada Egypt


Coris gaimard

Yellowtail wrasse or African coris

Juvenile
Juvenile

 Maximum length: 38 cm

Depth: 2 - 50 m

Adults: Yellow tail, bright blue spots at the base of the tail and rear body.

Initial phase: reddish head.

Juveniles: Reddish orange with white spots with black edges.

Photos 1 - 3 Johnny: Moalboal Philippines


Coris variegata

Dapple coris

Initiale phase
Initiale phase

 Maximum length: 20 cm

Depth: 1 - 20 m

Inhabits sand and rocky ground.

Photo 1 Astrid: Hurghada Egypt

Photo 2 Johnny: Hurghada Egypt


Halichoeres bivittatus

Slippery dick

Juvenile
Juvenile
Initial phase
Initial phase
Adult
Adult

Maximum length: 23 cm

Depth: 2 - 15 metres

Adults have a small two-coloured green and yellow spot above the pectoral fin.

In the centre of the body is a dark to black longitudinal stripe.

A dark triangular spot adorns the end of its caudal fin.

Juveniles are usually white and have a small dark spot at the base of the pectoral fin.

Photos 1 - 2 + 4 Johnny: Bonaire Caribbean

Photo 3 Astrid: Bonaire Caribbean


Halichoeres garnoti

Yellowhead wrasse

Juvenile
Juvenile

 Maximum length: 20 cm

Depth: 3 - 15 m

Yellow head and front body with a dark transverse band in the centre of the body.

Always found around reefs.

Not shy, but always keeps a safe distance.

Photo 1 Astrid: Bonaire Caribbean

Photos 2 - 5 Johnny: Bonaire Caribbean


Halichoeres hortulanus

Checkerboard wrasse

Juvenile
Juvenile
Male
Male
Female
Female
Male
Male

 Maximum length: 27 cm

Depth: 1 - 30 m

Its body has a chequerboard pattern and a yellow spot on the back.

Females have a yellow tail.

Males control a large territory.

Photo 1 + 2 + 4 Johnny: Hurghada Egypt

Photo 3 Astrid Hurghada Egypt


Halichoeres nebulosus

Nebulous wrasse

 Maximum length: 12 cm

Depth: 1 - 40 m

Variable colouration.

Shy animal, always close to the bottom, close to hiding places.

Photo 1 Johnny: Moalboal Philippines


Halichoeres pictus

Rainbow wrasse

Juvenile
Juvenile
Terminal phase
Terminal phase

 Maximum length: 18 cm

Depth: 5 - 25 metres

Tail root with spot and an orange stripe in the centre of the tail.

A blue stripe above and below the eye,

brown stripe through the eye to the tail,

which becomes weaker and weaker.

Brown stripe below the dorsal fin.

Juvenile form: Yellow-brown back, white belly,

pale brown stripe below the dorsal fin,

black stripe from the eye to the dorsal fin.

Swims around reefs.

Not shy, but keeps a safe distance.

Photo 1 Johnny: Bonaire Caribbean

Photo 2 Astrid: Bonaire Caribbean


Halichoeres radiatus

Puddingwife wrasse

Juvenile
Juvenile
Initial phase
Initial phase
Initiale phase
Initiale phase

Maximum length: 45 cm

Depth: 3 - 15 metres

Both forms have five white stripes or spots on the back,

which are no longer visible in adults.

Juvenile form still has a blue spot in the centre of the back and on the dorsal fin.

Swim around reefs.

Shy, keeps a safe distance.

Photos 1 - 2 Johnny: Bonaire Caribbean

Photos 3 - 4 Astrid: Bonaire Caribbean


Halichoeres scapularis

Zigzag wrasse

Juvenile
Juvenile
Juvenile
Juvenile

 Maximum length: 23 cm

Depth: 2 - 15 metres

From juvenile to adult form, it has a small greenish-yellow spot

above the pectoral fin and a longitudinal stripe in the centre of the body.

Juvenile form is mostly white.

Swims continuously in the reef, as well as on seagrass beds and sandy bottoms.

Photos 1 - 2 Astrid: Hurghada Egypt


Macropharyngodon bipartitus

Rare wrasse

Female
Female

 Maximum length: 13 cm 

Depth: 1 - 15 m

The photo shows a female.

They have two pairs of large fangs in their upper jaw.

Males keep harems.

Photo 1 Johnny: Hurghada Egypt


Macropharyngodon meleagris

Black-spotted wrasse, Eastern leopard wrasse or Reticulated wrasse

 Maximum length: 14 cm

Depth: 4 - 30 metres

If no males are present, the largest female will change into a male.

This species lives in shallow patch reefs, lagoons and bays with sand and rubble substrate.

Photo 1 Johnny: Moalboal Philippines


Stethojulis albovittata

Blueline wrasse, Whitelined wrasse or Rainbowfish

Male
Male
Female
Female

 Maximum length: 12 cm

Depth: 1 - 21 m

Male guards a harem group.

It is a fast pectoral fin swimmer that briefly picks up invertebrates, expelling the sand through the gill openings.

Photos 1 - 2 Johnny: El Qesir Egypt


Stethojulis interrupta

Cutribbon wrasse

Female
Female

 Maximum length: 13 cm

Depth: 5 - 25 m

The photo shows a female.

Found in coral reefs and seagrass beds.

Photo 1 Johnny: Hurghada Egypt


Thalassoma bifasciatum

Bluehead, Bluehead wrasse or Blue-headed wrasse

Initial phase
Initial phase
Juvenile form/initial phase - yellow colour form
Juvenile form/initial phase - yellow colour form
Juvenile form/initial phase yellow colour form
Juvenile form/initial phase yellow colour form
Adult
Adult

 Maximum length: 15 cm

Depth: 2 - 15 m

Blue head with two black horizontal bands and a white one in between.

Black spot behind the second fin ray.

There are three juvenile forms, but all already have the black spot on the dorsal fin

and a white belly as well as two spots behind the eye.

Juvenile form 1 with a broad black longitudinal stripe from the mouth to the tail

and a white back.( Photo 1)

Juvenile form 2 has a yellow back. ( Photo 2 )

Juvenile form 3 has horizontal stripes. ( no photo )

Not shy, swim close to you.

Photos 1 + 3 - 4 Johnny: Bonaire Caribbean

Photo 2 Astrid: Bonaire Caribbean


Thalassoma lunare

Moon wrasse, Crescent wrasse or Lyretail wrasse

Female
Female
Male
Male

 Maximum length: 27 cm

Depth: 0.5 - 20 m

Males are more beautifully coloured.

Very common on upper reef slopes.

Curious towards divers.

Eats invertebrates and small fish.

Photo 1 Astrid: Hurghada Egypt

Photo 2 Johnny: Hurghada Egypt


Thalassoma purpureum

Surge wrasse, Green-blocked wrasse, Purple wrasse or

Red and green wrasse

Maximum length: 43 cm

Depth: 0 - 20 m

Pale green body with Y pattern under the pectoral fin.

Lives almost exclusively in the surf zone of exposed rocks and coral reefs.

Difficult to photograph as it is always on the move, very shy and hard to approach.

Photos 1 - 2 Johnny: El Qesir Egypt


Thalassoma rueppellii

Klunzinger's wrasse

 Maximum length: 20 cm

Depth: 1 - 20 m

The males are also more beautifully coloured.

Likes to live on upper reef slopes.

Curious towards divers. 

Not shy.

Photo 1 Johnny: Hurghada Egypt


Xyrichtys martinicensis

Rosy razor fish

Female
Female
Female
Female
Male
Male
Male
Male

 Maximum length: 15 cm

Maximum depth: 2 - 15 m

Hovers over sandy areas, often close to sea grass.

When threatened, it likes to disappear into the sand,

whereby it can then cover some distance underneath.

Keeps a safe distance from divers.

Photos 1 - 4 Johnny: Bonaire Caribbean


Xyrichtys novacula

Pearly razorfish or Cleaver wrasse

Female
Female
Female
Female

Maximum length: 12 - 25 cm

Depth: 3 - 35 m

Very steep head profile, small eyes, females with a pearly white area on the belly.

Hovers over shallow sand and coral rubble beds

from which they build nests (coral rubble) or disappear into the sand in case of danger.

Photos 1 - 2 Johnny: Bonaire Caribbean


Xyrichtys splendens

Green razorfish

Maximum length: 14 cm

Depth: 2 - 12 m

Body: Males with one ( occasionally two dark spots )

on the centre of the body. Females have no characteristic markings (may have transverse bands).

Their colouring varies greatly,

but almost always with a greenish tinge.

Red iris with green pupil.

When threatened they disappear into the sand.

Photos 1 - 2 Johnny. Bonaire Caribbean