Napoleon Wrasse

Photo: David Roche · CC BY-NC

Napoleon wrasse — also called humphead wrasse — are among the largest coral reef fish in the world, and Santa Carolina's relatively undisturbed reefs support individuals approaching a metre in length whose prominent humped foreheads and thick lips make them unmistakable as they amble through coral corridors. They play a critical ecological role as one of very few reef predators capable of consuming crown-of-thorns starfish, toxic box jellyfish, and sea hares that other fish avoid, and their loss from heavily fished reefs has been linked to outbreaks of coral-destroying invertebrates. At Bazaruto, where fishing pressure remains low, napoleon wrasse display the slow, curious behaviour typical of unpressured individuals, often approaching divers closely.