The wrasses are a family, Labridae, of marine ray-finned fish, many of which are brightly colored. The family is large and diverse, with over 600 species in 81 genera, which are divided into nine subgroups or tribes.
The butterflyfish are a group of conspicuous tropical marine fish of the family Chaetodontidae; the bannerfish and coralfish are also included in this group. The approximately 129 species in 12 genera are found mostly on the reefs of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. A number of species pairs occur in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, members of the huge genus Chaetodon.
Parrotfish are a group of fish species traditionally regarded as a family (Scaridae), but now often treated as a subfamily (Scarinae) or tribe (Scarini) of the wrasses (Labridae). With roughly 95 species, this group's largest species richness is in the Indo-Pacific. They are found in coral reefs, rocky coasts, and seagrass beds, and can play a significant role in bioerosion.
Bodianus or the hogfishes is a genus of fish in the family Labridae found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean. These species have many parasites.
Choerodon is a genus of wrasses native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. They are commonly referred to as tuskfish, because most species have sharp tusk-like teeth.
The four-spotted butterflyfish or fourspot butterflyfish is a species of butterflyfish found in the Pacific Ocean from the Ryukyus, Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands and Taiwan to the Hawaiian, Marquesan, and Pitcairn islands, south to the Samoan and Austral Islands and the Marianas and Marshall Islands in Micronesia.
Cleaner fish are fish that show a specialist feeding strategy by providing a service to other species, referred to as clients, by removing dead skin, ectoparasites, and infected tissue from the surface or gill chambers. This example of cleaning symbiosis represents mutualism and cooperation behaviour, an ecological interaction that benefits both parties involved. However, the cleaner fish may consume mucus or tissue, thus creating a form of parasitism called cheating. The client animals are typically fish of a different species, but can also be aquatic reptiles, mammals, or octopuses. A wide variety of fish including wrasse, cichlids, catfish, pipefish, lumpsuckers, and gobies display cleaning behaviors across the globe in fresh, brackish, and marine waters but specifically concentrated in the tropics due to high parasite density. Similar behaviour is found in other groups of animals, such as cleaner shrimps.
The Asian sheephead wrasse, also known as kobudai in Japan, is one of the largest species of wrasse. Native to the western Pacific Ocean, it inhabits rocky reef areas and prefers temperate waters around the Korean Peninsula, China, Japan, and the Ogasawara Islands. It can reach 100 cm (39 in) in total length, and the greatest weight recorded is 14.7 kg (32 lb).
Semicossyphus, commonly known as sheephead wrasses, are an invalid genus of wrasses native to the Pacific Ocean. It is now considered a synonym of Bodianus.
The bluestreak cleaner wrasse is one of several species of cleaner wrasses found on coral reefs from Eastern Africa and the Red Sea to French Polynesia. Like other cleaner wrasses, it eats parasites and dead tissue off larger fishes' skin in a mutualistic relationship that provides food and protection for the wrasse, and considerable health benefits for the other fishes. It is also notable for having potentially passed the mirror test, though this is not without controversy.
The slingjaw wrasse is a species of wrasse from the family Labridae which is native to the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific where it occurs around coral reefs. This species is of minor importance to local commercial fisheries and can be found in the aquarium trade. This fish is notable for its highly protrusible jaws.
The blue-banded wrasse is a species of wrasse native to the easternmost Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. It is an inhabitant of reefs, preferring substrates of flat sand or rubble at depths of from 15 to 85 m. This species grows to 12 cm (4.7 in) in standard length. It is of minor importance to local commercial fisheries.
The Hawaiian cleaner wrasse or golden cleaner wrasse, is a species of wrasse found in the waters surrounding the Hawaiian Islands. The fish is endemic to Hawaii. These cleaner fish inhabit coral reefs, setting up a territory referred to as a cleaning station. They obtain a diet of small crustacean parasites by removing them from other reef fish in a cleaning symbiosis.
Labriformes is an order of ray-finned fishes which includes the wrasses, cales and parrotfishes, within the clade Percomorpha. Some authors include the Labriformes as the clade Labroidei within the Perciformes while others include more families within the Labriformes, such as the cichlids and damselfishes, but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World includes just three listed in the section below and includes 87 genera and about 630 species.
Bodianus darwini is a species of ray-finned fish native to the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean. Common names include the Chilean sheepshead wrasse, the goldspot sheepshead or the Galapagos sheepshead wrasse.
Halichoeres burekae, the Mardi Gras wrasse, is a species of wrasse native to the Gulf of Mexico. The species was first described from the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, but has since been recorded in other areas of the southern Gulf of Mexico. Because it is a small species that feeds on plankton in the water column, it is likely a preferred prey for invasive Lionfish. It also has a very restricted range, and corresponding relatively small population, what resulted in this species being listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List.
Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa, also known by its common name rose-veiled fairy wrasse, is a rainbow-colored wrasse that is native to the reefs of the Maldives.
The cheiline wrasses are saltwater fish of the tribe Cheilinini, a subgroup of the wrasse family (Labridae).
The hypsigenyine wrasses are saltwater fish of the tribe Hypsigenyini, a subgroup of the wrasse family (Labridae). The group is circumglobal, being found in almost all the of world's shallow tropical marine waters, although some species are also found in temperate zones.
The novaculine wrasses are saltwater fish of the tribe Novaculini, a subgroup of the wrasse family (Labridae). The group is also known more colloquially as the razorfishes. They are found throughout the global tropics, and live obligately on the sand plains of reef-associated slopes.
