Painted Comber

Photo: Gianfrs · CC BY-NC-ND

One of the most visually striking small reef fish in the Mediterranean, the painted comber is common throughout the wall and surrounding boulder garden. Its vivid blue-striped flank markings are distinctive and divers often mistake it for something exotic. It is a simultaneous hermaphrodite and often encountered in pairs or small groups; it is one of the few fish able to self-fertilise, though cross-fertilisation with a partner is the behavioural norm.