Humphead wrasse (Napoleon wrasse)
Cheilinus undulatus
Valid name.
- English
- Humphead wrasse (Napoleon wrasse)
- Scientific
- Cheilinus undulatus
- Dhivehi
- މާހުޅުނބު ލަނޑާMaa hulhumbu landaa
- Group
- Reef fish
- Family
- Labridae (wrasses)
- Maximum size
- Up to about 2 m and 190 kg (FishBase max 229 cm SL); most adults seen are under 1 m
- Depth and habitat
- Outer reef slopes, channels and lagoon reefs, about 1 to 100 m
- IUCN status
- EN · EndangeredEndangered (EN), assessed 2024CITES Appendix II
Description
The largest living wrasse, with thick lips and, in large males, a pronounced bulge on the forehead. Adults are green to blue-green with fine wavy markings on the face; the name 'Napoleon' refers to the hump and the 'hat' shape. It eats hard-shelled prey such as molluscs, sea urchins and crabs, and is one of the few predators of the crown-of-thorns starfish. It grows slowly, changes sex from female to male, and can live for 30 years, which makes it very vulnerable to overfishing.
In the Maldives
Protected in the Maldives: the Maldives was the first country to ban its export (1995), and it may not be caught or sold. Regularly seen by divers on channel and outer reefs.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Cheilinus-undulatus.html
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=5604&GenusName=Cheilinus&SpeciesName=
- int-res.com /abstracts/esr/v49/p135-144
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Cheilinus_undulatus_Maldives.JPG
Dhivehi name source: FishBase common names (country: Maldives) (Latin only, language recorded as Maldivian (Dhivehi)). Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia list of MRS 1997 species (entry without its own article), matched to this species through the Latin form. FLAG: Thaana linked by transliteration match; confirm.