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Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing the humphead wrasse. These fish live in coral reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific region. They are some of the largest living bony fish found on reefs. Unfortunately, they’re also endangered. The humphead wrasse is known to reach sizes over six feet in length (182cm), but on average they aren’t seen more than two feet (61cm) long. This is because they’re caught in their juvenile size range and raised by humans until they reach “marketable size”.

Humans hunt humphead wrasse via use of cyanide which kills the surrounding reef. In some areas, this is done so quickly the fish are unable to recover their numbers. While they have protections in some places, other areas leave their populations endangered to extirpation - or extinction in these locales. Hopefully this video will help raise some awareness of this brilliant fish’s existence!

The humphead wrasse gets its common name from the prominent bulge found on the head of older individuals. They don’t develop this until later in life. They may be confused with other large wrasse species like the sheepshead wrasse who also have a large head bulge, but the humphead typically displays brighter colors. Female and male humphead wrasses can be told apart as males are blue green in color while females are red and orange. Like parrotfish, however, a humphead wrasse may change sex over the course of its lifetime.

Humphead wrasse are slow growing fish. They begin life as an egg that drifts throughout the ocean. Eggs are fertilized externally and hatch into larvae that take almost a month to develop into juvenile fish. After six months, a humphead wrasse is only about two inches (5cm) long.

It takes five years for females to reach reproductive size and they’ll breed as females until they’re about nine years old. At this point, they may undergo a change in which they become male. This doesn’t always happen. Females that don’t transition continue on a slower growth rate, while transitioned males experience a growth spurt. Both males and females can reach at least three feet (91cm) and live to thirty years of age.

The humphead wrasse is also known as the Napoleon fish supposedly because its large lump resembles the bump in Napoleon’s hat. What do you all think? Young humphead wrasse may spend more time in seagrass beds and places with lots of coral in which they can hide. Larger individuals spend their time at reef edges where they may swim deeper than 300 feet. They may gather in small groups and during the breeding season their numbers can reach more than one hundred!

These fish eat other fish, mollusks, crustaceans, and even sea stars including the crown of thorns starfish! They have fused teeth that resemble a parrot’s beak. These, along with tooth-like projections in their throat, help them break down their hard-shelled prey. Yes, like moray eels, they have throat teeth. In turn, they may be eaten by other larger reef fish, like sharks, though their biggest threat comes from humans.

For more facts on the humphead wrasse, check out the links below. Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today. Thank you to our Patrons SpikeSpiegel93, Dad, and everyone else for their support of this channel! Thank you to these viewers for today’s request! And thank you for watching Animal Fact Files!