Peacock Wrasse

Photo: wingwatcher48 · CC BY-NC

Large males in breeding coloration — deep blue with iridescent scale margins — defend nest sites built of algae among the shallow ruins from April through June. They are among the most elaborate nest builders in the Mediterranean, constructing domed algal structures that they then guard vigorously against all intruders. The rubble and crevice-rich environment of the sunken city provides ideal nesting habitat at extraordinarily high density.