Napoleon Wrasse

Photo: Dulcinéa G · © all rights reserved

Several large humphead wrasse — some exceeding 1.5 m — use Bar Reef's deeper bommies as home ranges, patrolling the reef edge in a slow, deliberate circuit. As long-lived predators of sea urchins, molluscs, and crustaceans, they serve a crucial reef-maintenance function and their presence indicates an ecologically intact system. The Kalpitiya population is one of the few in Sri Lankan waters where regular encounters are reliably reported by dive operators.