Wrasse

{{short description|Family of ray-finned fishes}} {{other uses}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = Wrasses | fossil_range = {{fossil range|50|0|Early Eocene to present}} | image = Vieille coquette (Labrus mixtus) (Ifremer 00563-67488 - 23544) (cropped 2).jpg | image_caption = Cuckoo wrasse (''Labrus mixtus'') | taxon = Labridae | authority = G. Cuvier, 1816 | subdivision_ranks = Subfamilies | subdivision = * Cheilininae * Cirrhilabrinae * Hypsigenyinae * Julidinae * Labrinae * Pseudolabrinae * Scarinae * Xyrichtyinae }}

The '''wrasses''' are a family, '''Labridae''', of marine ray-finned fish, many of which are brightly colored. The family is large and diverse, with over 600 species in 81 genera, which are divided into eight subfamilies.<ref name=":13" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last1=Brownstein |first1=Chase D. |last2=Harrington |first2=Richard C. |last3=Alencar |first3=Laura R. V. |last4=Bellwood |first4=David R. |last5=Choat |first5=John H. |last6=Rocha |first6=Luiz A. |last7=Wainwright |first7=Peter C. |last8=Tavera |first8=Jose |last9=Burress |first9=Edward D. |last10=Muñoz |first10=Martha M. |last11=Cowman |first11=Peter F. |last12=Near |first12=Thomas J. |date=2025-05-07 |title=Phylogenomics establishes an Early Miocene reconstruction of reef vertebrate diversity |journal=Science Advances |volume=11 |issue=19 |article-number=eadu6149 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.adu6149 |pmc=12057688 |pmid=40333985 |bibcode=2025SciA...11.6149B }}</ref>

They are typically small, most of them less than {{convert|20|cm|in|abbr=on}} long, although the largest, the humphead wrasse, can measure up to {{convert|2.5|m|ft|abbr=on}}. They are efficient carnivores, feeding on a wide range of small invertebrates. Many smaller wrasses follow the feeding trails of larger fish, picking up invertebrates disturbed by their passing.<ref name="EoF">{{cite book |editor1-last=Paxton |editor1-first=J.R. |editor2-last=Eschmeyer |editor2-first=W.N. |last1=Choat |first1=J.H. |last2=Bellwood |first2=D.R. |year=1998 |title=Encyclopedia of Fishes |publisher=Academic Press |location=San Diego |isbn=978-0-12-547665-2 |page=211}}</ref> Juveniles of some representatives of the genera ''Bodianus'', ''Epibulus'', ''Cirrhilabrus'', ''Oxycheilinus'', and ''Paracheilinus'' hide among the tentacles of the free-living mushroom corals and ''Heliofungia actiniformis''.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Bos |first=Arthur R |year=2012 |title=Fishes (Gobiidae and Labridae) associated with the mushroom coral''Heliofungia actiniformis'' (Scleractinia: Fungiidae) in the Philippines |journal=Coral Reefs |doi=10.1007/s00338-011-0834-3 |volume=31 |issue=1 |page=133|doi-access=free |bibcode=2012CorRe..31..133B }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bos |first1=AR |last2=Hoeksema |first2=BW |year=2015 |title=Cryptobenthic fishes and co-inhabiting shrimps associated with the mushroom coral ''Heliofungia actiniformis'' (Fungiidae) in the Davao Gulf, Philippines |journal=Environmental Biology of Fishes |doi=10.1007/s10641-014-0374-0 |volume=98 |issue=6 |pages=1479–1489|bibcode=2015EnvBF..98.1479B |s2cid=254466578 }}</ref> ==Etymology== The word "wrasse" comes from the Cornish word {{Lang|kw|wragh}}, a lenited form of {{Lang|kw|gwragh}}, meaning an old woman or hag, via Cornish dialect ''wrath''. It is related to the Welsh {{Lang|cy|gwrach}} and Breton {{Lang|br|gwrac'h}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wrasse | Define Wrasse at Dictionary.com |publisher=Dictionary.reference.com |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Wrasse |access-date=2012-06-28}}</ref> [[File:Phyllopharyngodon longipinnis.jpg|thumb|†''Phyllopharyngodon longipinnis'' (Eocene)]]

== Taxonomy == Parrotfish were traditionally regarded as comprising their own family (Scaridae), but are now often treated as a subfamily (Scarinae) or tribe (Scarini) of the wrasses (Labridae), being nested deep within the wrasse phylogenetic tree.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Westneat |first1=Mark W. |last2=Alfaro |first2=Michael E. |date=2005-03-11 |title=Phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history of the reef fish family Labridae |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1055790305000400 |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |language=en |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=370–390 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2005.02.001|pmid=15955516 |bibcode=2005MolPE..36..370W |url-access=subscription }}</ref> The odacine wrasses, traditionally classified as forming their own family, were found nested deep within the wrasse tribe Hypsigenyini, and most closely related to the tuskfishes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hughes |first1=Lily C |last2=Nash |first2=Chloe M |last3=White |first3=William T |last4=Westneat |first4=Mark W |date=2023-06-17 |editor-last=Matschiner |editor-first=Michael |title=Concordance and Discordance in the Phylogenomics of the Wrasses and Parrotfishes (Teleostei: Labridae) |url=https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/article/72/3/530/6798871 |journal=Systematic Biology |language=en |volume=72 |issue=3 |pages=530–543 |doi=10.1093/sysbio/syac072 |pmid=36331534 |issn=1063-5157}}</ref>

=== Genera === The following classification is based on ''Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes'':<ref name=":13">{{Catalog of Fishes |date=2025 |title=ESCHMEYER'S CATALOG OF FISHES: CLASSIFICATION |url=https://www.calacademy.org/eschmeyers-catalog-of-fishes-classification#:~:text=Labridae |access-date=2025-02-10 |website=California Academy of Sciences |language=en}}</ref><ref name=cof-genera>{{Catalog of Fishes |family=Labridae |access-date=27 May 2026}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |+ !Subfamily !Genera |- |Hypsigenyinae |''Achoerodus, Anchichoerops, Bodianus, Choerodon, Decodon, Lachnolaimus, Polylepion, Pseudodax, Terelabrus, Haletta, Heteroscarus, Neoodax, Odax, Parodax, Olisthops, Sheardichthys, Siphonognathus.'' |- |Cirrhilabrinae |''Cirrhilabrus, Paracheilinus, Pseudocheilinops, Pseudocheilinus, Pteragogus.'' |- |Labrinae |''Acantholabrus'', ''Centrolabrus'', ''Ctenolabrus'', ''Labrus'', ''Lappanella'', ''Symphodus'', ''Tautoga'', ''Tautogolabrus'' |- |Cheilininae |''Cheilinus'', ''Epibulus,'' ''Oxycheilinus, Wetmorella.'' |- |Scarinae |''Bolbometopon,'' ''Calotomus, Cetoscarus, Chlorurus, Cryptotomus, Hipposcarus, Leptoscarus, Nicholsina, Scarus, Sparisoma.'' |- |Xyrichtyinae |''Ammolabrus, Cheilio'', ''Cymolutes, Iniistius, Novaculichthys, Novaculoides, Novaculops, Xyrichtys'' |- |Pseudolabrinae |''Austrolabrus'', ''Doratonotus'', ''Dotalabrus'', ''Eupetrichthys'', ''Malapterus'', ''Notolabrus'', ''Pictilabrus'', ''Pseudolabrus'', ''Suezichthys'' |- |Julidinae |''Anampses, Coris, Diproctacanthus, Frontilabrus, Gomphosus, Halichoeres, Hemigymnus, Hologymnosus, Labrichthys, Labroides, Labropsis, Larabicus, Leptojulis, Macropharyngodon, Minilabrus, Ophthalmolepis, Parajulis, Pseudocoris, Pseudojuloides, Stethojulis, Thalassoma, Xenojulis.'' |} The following fossil genera are also known, lacking a proper subfamiliar or tribal placement:<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Bellwood |first1=David R. |last2=Schultz |first2=Ortwin |last3=Siqueira |first3=Alexandre C. |last4=Cowman |first4=Peter F. |date=2019 |title=A review of the fossil record of the Labridae |journal=Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien. Serie a für Mineralogie und Petrographie, Geologie und Paläontologie, Anthropologie und Prähistorie |volume=121 |pages=125–194 |jstor=26595690 |issn=0255-0091}}</ref>

* †''Bellwoodilabrus'' Bannikov & Carnevale, 2010 (Early Eocene of Italy) * †''Eocoris'' Bannikov & Soribini, 2010 (Early Eocene of Italy) * †''Labrobolcus'' Bannikov & Bellwood, 2015 (Early Eocene of Italy) * ?†''Paralabrus'' Bannikov & Zorzini, 2019<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=BANNIKOV |first1=ALEXANDRE F |last2=ZORZIN |first2=ROBERTO |date=2019 |title=Paralabrus rossiae, a new genus and species of putative labroid fish (Perciformes) from the Eocene of Bolca in northern Italy |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336367425 |journal=Studi e ricerche sui giacimenti terziari di Bolca |volume=XIX |issue=16 |pages=39–47 |via=}}</ref> (Early Eocene of Italy) * †''Wainwrightilabrus'' Carnevale, 2015 (Middle Miocene of Austria)<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Carnevale |first=Giorgio |date=2015 |title= Middle Miocene wrasses (Teleostei, Labridae) from St.Margarethen (Burgenland, Austria) |url=https://iris.unito.it/handle/2318/1537839 |journal= Palaeontographica Abteilung A|volume=304 |issue=1–6 |pages=124–160 |doi=10.1127/pala/304/2015/124 }}</ref> * †''Zorzinilabrus'' Bannikov & Bellwood, 2017 (Early Eocene of Italy)

Fossil wrasses date to the Early Eocene of Monte Bolca, Italy. Among these is ''Phyllopharyngodon'', which can uniquely be placed in the extant subfamily Hypsigenyinae.<ref name=":4" /> Wrasses appear to have had an even wider distribution in prehistoric times, with fossil remains being known from the Middle Eocene-aged La Meseta Formation of Antarctica. They were presumably wiped out from Antarctica following the continent's cooling during the Oligocene.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Long |first=Douglas J. |date=1992 |title=An Eocene wrasse (Perciformes; Labridae) from Seymour Island |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antarctic-science/article/abs/an-eocene-wrasse-perciformes-labridae-from-seymour-island/37BFEEEC4D8AFBEE71F79233646572B5 |journal=Antarctic Science |language=en |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=235–237 |doi=10.1017/S095410209200035X |bibcode=1992AntSc...4..235L |issn=1365-2079|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Description== thumb|left|Lips of ''Labrus festivus''|alt=Drawing of wrasse profile showing eye, lips, and teeth

Wrasses have protractile mouths, usually with separate jaw teeth that jut outwards.<ref name="wainwright">{{cite journal |last1=Wainwright |first1=Peter C. |last2=Alfaro |first2=Michael E. |last3=Bolnick |first3=Daniel I. |last4=Hulsey |first4=C. Darrin |year=2005 |title=Many-to-One Mapping of Form to Function: A General Principle in Organismal Design? |journal=Integrative and Comparative Biology |doi=10.1093/icb/45.2.256 |pmid=21676769 |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=256–262|doi-access=free }}</ref> Many species can be readily recognized by their thick lips, the inside of which is sometimes curiously folded, a peculiarity which gave rise to the German name of "lip-fishes" ({{Lang|de|Lippfische}}),<ref name="eb1911">{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Wrasse|volume=28|page=839}}</ref> and the Dutch name of {{Lang|nl|lipvissen}}. The dorsal fin has 8 to 21 spines and 6 to 21 soft rays, usually running most of the length of the back. Wrasses are sexually dimorphic. Many species are capable of changing sex. Juveniles are a mix of males and females (known as initial-phase individuals), but the largest adults become territory-holding (terminal-phase) males.<ref name="wainwright"/>

[[File:Corl0263 (28200513552) (cropped).jpg|thumb|Two very large wrasse species: humphead parrotfish (left) and humphead wrasse (right)]] [[File:Wetmorella albofasciata (Fiji).jpg|thumb|Whitebanded possum wrasse (''Wetmorella albofasciata''), one of the smallest wrasse species]]

The wrasses have become a primary study species in fish-feeding biomechanics due to their jaw structures. The nasal and mandibular bones are connected at their posterior ends to the rigid neurocranium, and the superior and inferior articulations of the maxilla are joined to the anterior tips of these two bones, respectively, creating a loop of four rigid bones connected by moving joints. This "four-bar linkage" has the property of allowing numerous arrangements to achieve a given mechanical result (fast jaw protrusion or a forceful bite), thus decoupling morphology from function. The actual morphology of wrasses reflects this, with many lineages displaying different jaw morphology that results in the same functional output in a similar or identical ecological niche.<ref name="wainwright"/>

==Distribution and habitat== Most wrasses inhabit the tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, though some species live in temperate waters: the Ballan wrasse is found as far north as Norway. Wrasses are usually found in shallow-water habitats such as coral reefs and rocky shores, where they live close to the substrate.

==Reproductive behavior==

Most labrids are protogynous hermaphrodites within a haremic mating system.<ref name=Robertson1978> {{Cite journal | last1 = Robertson | first1 = D.R. |last2=Warner |first2=R.R. | year = 1978 | title = Sexual patterns in the labroid fishes of the Western Caribbean II: the parrotfishes (Scaridae) | journal = Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology | doi = 10.5479/si.00810282.255 | volume = 255 | issue = 255 | pages = 1–26 }}</ref><ref name=Kazancioglu2010> {{Cite journal | last1 = Kazancioglu | first1 = E. | last2=Alonzo |first2=S.H. | year = 2010 | title = A comparative analysis of sex change in Labridae supports the size advantage hypothesis | journal = Evolution | doi = 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2010.01016.x | pmid=20394662 | volume = 64 | issue = 8 | pages = 2254–226 | doi-access = free }}</ref> A good example of this reproductive behavior is seen in the California sheephead. Hermaphroditism allows for complex mating systems. Labroids exhibit three different mating systems: polygynous, lek-like, and promiscuous.<ref name=Colin1992> {{cite journal | last1 = Colin | first1 = P.L. |last2=Bell |first2=L. J. | year = 1992 | title = Aspects of the spawning of labrid and scarid fishes (Pisces, Labroidei) at Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands with notes on other families (corrected reprint.) | journal = Environmental Biology of Fishes | doi = 10.1007/BF00005881 | volume = 33 | issue = 3 | pages = 330–345 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Group spawning and pair spawning occur within mating systems. The type of spawning that occurs depends on male body size.<ref name="Kazancioglu2010"/> Labroids typically exhibit broadcast spawning, releasing high numbers of planktonic eggs, which are broadcast by tidal currents; adult labroids have no interaction with offspring.<ref name=Hanel2002> {{cite journal | last1 = Hanel | first1 = R. |last2=Westneat |first2=M. W. |last3=Sturmbauer |first3=C. |date=December 2002 | title = Phylogenetic relationships, evolution of broodcare behavior, and geographic speciation in the Wrasse tribe Labrini. | journal = Journal of Molecular Evolution | doi = 10.1007/s00239-002-2373-6 | pmid = 12486536 | volume = 55 | issue = 6 | pages = 776–789 | bibcode = 2002JMolE..55..776H | s2cid = 3002410 }}</ref> Wrasses of a particular subgroup of the family Labridae, Labrini, do not exhibit broadcast spawning.

Sex change in wrasses is generally female-to-male, but experimental conditions have allowed for male-to-female sex change. Placing two male ''Labroides dimidiatus'' wrasses in the same tank results in the smaller of the two becoming female again.<ref name =Kuwamura2002> {{Cite journal | last1 = Kuwamura | first1 = T. |last2=Tanaka |first2=N. |last3=Nakashima |first3=Y. |last4=Karino |first4=K. |last5=Sakai |first5=Y | year=2002 | title = Reversed sex-change in the protogynous reef fish Labroides dimidiatus | journal = Ethology | doi = 10.1046/j.1439-0310.2002.00791.x | volume = 108 | issue = 5 | pages = 443–450 | bibcode = 2002Ethol.108..443K }}</ref> Additionally, while the individual to change sex is generally the largest female,<ref name=Munday2009> {{Cite journal | last1 = Munday | first1 = P. L. |last2=Ryen |first2=C. A. |last3=McCormick |first3=M. I. |last4=Walker |first4=S. P. W. | year=2009 | title = Growth acceleration, behaviour and otolith check marks associated with sex change in the wrasse ''Halichoeres miniatus'' | journal = Coral Reefs | doi = 10.1007/s00338-009-0499-3 | volume = 28 | issue = 3 | pages = 623–634 | bibcode = 2009CorRe..28..623M | s2cid = 38928952 }}</ref> evidence also exists of the largest female instead "choosing" to remain female in situations in which she can maximize her evolutionary fitness by refraining from changing sex.<ref name=Munoz2003> {{Cite journal | last1 = Munoz | first1 = R. C. |last2=Warner |first2=R. R. | year=2003 | title = A new version of the size-advantage hypothesis for sex change: incorporating sperm competition and size-fecundity skew | journal = American Naturalist | doi = 10.1086/374345 | pmid = 12858282 | volume = 161 | issue = 5 | pages = 749–761 | s2cid = 33000631 }}</ref>

===Broodcare behavior of the tribe=== The subfamily Labrinae arose from a basal split within family Labridae during the Eocene period.<ref name="Cowman2009"> {{cite journal |last1=Cowman |first1=P.F. |last2=Bellwood |first2=D.R. |last3=van Herwerden |first3=L. |year=2009 |title=Dating the evolutionary origins of wrasse lineages (Labridae) and the rise of trophic novelty on coral reefs |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=52 |issue=3 |pages=621–631 |bibcode=2009MolPE..52..621C |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2009.05.015 |pmid=19464378}}</ref> Subgroup Labrinae is composed of eight genera, wherein 15 of 23 species exhibit broodcare behavior,<ref name="Hanel2002"/> which ranges from simple to complex parental care of spawn; males build algae nests or crude cavities, ventilate eggs, and defend nests against conspecific males and predators.<ref name="Hanel2002"/> In species that express this behavior, eggs cannot survive without parental care.<ref name=Taborsky1987> {{cite journal | last1 = Taborsky | first1 = M. |last2=Hudde |first2=B. |last3=Wirtz |first3=P. | year = 1987 | title = Reproductive behavior and ecology of ''Symphodus (Crenilabrus) ocellatus'', a European wrasse with four types of male behavior | journal = Behaviour | doi = 10.1163/156853986x00063 | volume = 102 | issue = 1–2 | pages = 82–118 }}</ref> Species of ''Symphodus, Centrolabrus'', and ''Labrus'' genera exhibit broodcare behavior.

== Sexual developmental systems == Wrasses exhibit three types of sexual development, depending on the species. Sex in this context refers to functional sex, ie the individual's role when mating. Some species show functional gonochorism, meaning that they are born functionally either male or female, and remain so for their entire life; there is no sex change. Meanwhile, functionally hermaphroditic species exhibit sex change, and are protogynous, meaning that individuals that are functionally female can become functionally male. These protogynous species are either monandric (all individuals are born functionally female, but can become functionally male) or diandric (individuals can be born either female or male, and individuals that are born female can become male).<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Lowe |first1=Jake R. |last2=Russ |first2=Garry R. |last3=Bucol |first3=Abner A. |last4=Abesamis |first4=Rene A. |last5=Choat |first5=John H. |date=2021 |title=Geographic variability in the gonadal development and sexual ontogeny of Hemigymnus, Cheilinus and Oxycheilinus wrasses among Indo-Pacific coral reefs |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jfb.14842 |journal=Journal of Fish Biology |language=en |volume=99 |issue=4 |pages=1348–1363 |doi=10.1111/jfb.14842 |pmid=34228351 |bibcode=2021JFBio..99.1348L |issn=1095-8649|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Evolutionarily, wrasse lineages trend towards developing monandry.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hodge |first1=Jennifer R. |language=en |biorxiv=10.1101/665638 |last2=Santini |first2=Francesco |last3=Wainwright |first3=Peter C. |title=Correlated Evolution of Sex Allocation and Mating System in Wrasses and Parrotfishes |journal=The American Naturalist |date=2020 |volume=196 |issue=1 |pages=57–73 |doi=10.1086/708764 |pmid=32552101 |bibcode=2020ANat..196...57H }}</ref> Monandric lineages rarely transition directly to diandry, instead transitioning through functional gonochorism first on the pathway to diandry.<ref name=":0" />

== Potential tool use == Many species of wrasses have been recorded using large rocks or hard coral as "anvils", upon which they smash open hard-shelled prey items. At least some of these species can remember to use a particular rock or coral repeatedly for this purpose.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Pryor |first=Kimberley Jane |date=2022 |title=Tool use by the orange wrasse Pseudolabrus luculentus and doubleheader Coris bulbifrons |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/maec.12727 |journal=Marine Ecology |language=en |volume=43 |issue=6 |article-number=e12727 |doi=10.1111/maec.12727 |bibcode=2022MarEc..43E2727P |issn=1439-0485|url-access=subscription }}</ref> This behaviour usually involves invertebrate prey such as clams, sea urchins, and crabs, but on one occasion, a blue tuskfish was filmed smashing a young green sea turtle on an anvil.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Harborne |first1=A. R. |last2=Tholan |first2=B. A. |date=September 2016 |title=Tool use by Choerodon cyanodus when handling vertebrate prey |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00338-016-1448-6 |journal=Coral Reefs |language=en |volume=35 |issue=3 |page=1069 |doi=10.1007/s00338-016-1448-6 |bibcode=2016CorRe..35.1069H |issn=0722-4028}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

Twenty-one species of eight genera have been documented exhibiting this behaviour, including ''Choerodon'' (''C. anchorago'', ''C. cyanodus'', ''C. graphicus'', ''C. schoenleinii''), ''Coris'' (''C. aygula'', ''C. bulbifrons'', ''C. julis'', ''C. sandeyeri''), ''Cheilinus'' (''C. fasciatus'', ''C. lunulatus'', ''C. trilobatus''), ''Thalassoma'' (''T. hardwicke'', ''T. jansenii'', ''T. lunare'', ''T. lutescens'', ''T. pavo''), ''Symphodus'' (''S. mediterraneus''), ''Halichoeres'' (''H. garnoti'', ''H. hortulanus''), ''Bodianus'' (''B. pulcher''), and ''Pseudolabrus'' (''P. luculentus'').<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jaishankar |first1=Siddhi |last2=Nair |first2=Radhika |last3=Alcoverro |first3=Teresa |last4=Arthur |first4=Rohan |date=2024-04-01 |title=Anvil use by three wrasse species: Halichoeres hortulanus, Thalassoma jansenii, and Thalassoma lunare |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00338-024-02467-y |journal=Coral Reefs |language=en |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=483–487 |doi=10.1007/s00338-024-02467-y |bibcode=2024CorRe..43..483J |issn=1432-0975|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Cleaner wrasse==  [[File:Cleaning station.JPG|Hawaiian cleaner wrasses working on gill area of dragon wrasse ''Novaculichthys taeniourus'', on a reef in Hawaii|thumb|right|alt=Photo of two small wrasses cleaning large wrasse's gills]]

Cleaner wrasses are the best-known of the cleaner fish. They live in a cleaning symbiosis with larger, often predatory, fish, grooming them and benefiting by consuming what they remove. "Client" fish congregate at wrasse "cleaning stations" and wait for the cleaner fish to remove gnathiid parasites, the cleaners even swimming into their open mouths and gill cavities to do so.<ref name=smart>[https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/03/the-fish-that-makes-other-fish-smarter/554924/ "The Fish That Makes Other Fish Smarter"] by Ed Yong, ''The Atlantic'', March 7, 2018</ref>

Cleaner wrasses are best known for feeding on dead tissue, scales, and ectoparasites, although they are also known to 'cheat', consuming healthy tissue and mucus, which is energetically costly for the client fish to produce. The bluestreak cleaner wrasse, ''Labroides dimidiatus'', is one of the most common cleaners found on tropical reefs. Few cleaner wrasses have been observed being eaten by predators, possibly because predator survival is more important than the parasite removal.<ref>Trivers, R. L. 1971</ref>

In a 2019 study, cleaner wrasses passed the mirror test, the first fish to do so.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2178329-a-species-of-fish-has-passed-the-mirror-test-for-the-first-time/|title=A species of fish has passed the mirror test for the first time|website=New Scientist}}</ref> However, the test's inventor, American psychologist Gordon G. Gallup, has said that the fish were most likely trying to scrape off a perceived parasite on another fish and that they did not demonstrate self-recognition. The authors of the study retorted that because the fish checked themselves in the mirror before and after the scraping, this meant that the fish had self-awareness and recognized that their reflections belonged to their own bodies.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-02-07|title=This tiny fish can recognize itself in a mirror. Is it self-aware?|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/09/fish-cleaner-wrasse-self-aware-mirror-test-intelligence-news/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917071929/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/09/fish-cleaner-wrasse-self-aware-mirror-test-intelligence-news/|archive-date=September 17, 2018|access-date=2020-05-11|website=Animals|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Ye|first=Yvaine|title=A species of fish has passed the mirror test for the first time|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2178329-a-species-of-fish-has-passed-the-mirror-test-for-the-first-time/|access-date=2020-05-11|website=New Scientist|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="rxiv-fish">{{Cite journal|last1=Kohda|first1=Masanori|last2=Takashi|first2=Hatta|last3=Takeyama|first3=Tmohiro|last4=Awata|first4=Satoshi|last5=Tanaka|first5=Hirokazu|last6=Asai|first6=Jun-ya|last7=Jordan|first7=Alex|title=If a fish can pass the mark test, what are the implications for consciousness and self-awareness testing in animals? |journal=PLOS Biology |date=2019 |volume=17 |issue=2 |article-number=e3000021 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000021 |doi-access=free |pmid=30730878 |language=en|biorxiv=10.1101/397067|pmc=6366756}}</ref> In a 2024 study, "mirror-naive" bluestreak cleaner wrasse were reported to initially show aggression to wrasse photographs sized 10% larger or 10% smaller than themselves, regardless of size. However, upon viewing their reflections in a mirror, they avoided confronting photographs 10% larger than they were.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kobayashi |first1=Taiga |last2=Kohda |first2=Masanori |last3=Awata |first3=Satoshi |last4=Bshary |first4=Redouan |last5=Sogawa |first5=Shumpei |date=2024-09-11 |title=Cleaner fish with mirror self-recognition capacity precisely realize their body size based on their mental image |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=14 |issue=1 |page=20202 |doi=10.1038/s41598-024-70138-7 |pmid=39261520 |issn=2045-2322|pmc=11390716 |bibcode=2024NatSR..1420202K }}</ref>

==Significance to humans== In the Western Atlantic coastal region of North America, the most common food species for indigenous humans was the tautog, a species of wrasse.<ref name="eb1911"/> Wrasses today are commonly found in both public and home aquaria. Some species are small enough to be considered reef safe. They may also be employed as cleaner fish to combat sea-lice infestations in salmon farms.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sea Lice |publisher=Scottish Salmon Producers' Organisation |url=http://www.scottishsalmon.co.uk/science/sea_lice%284%29.aspx |access-date=8 June 2011 |archive-date=15 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130915164124/http://www.scottishsalmon.co.uk/science/sea_lice(4).aspx }}</ref> Commercial fish farming of cleaner wrasse for sea-lice pest control in commercial salmon farming has developed in Scotland as lice busters, with apparent commercial benefit and viability.{{cn|date=May 2026}}

==Parasites== As all fish, labrids are the hosts of a number of parasites. A list of 338 parasite taxa from 127 labrid fish species was provided by Muñoz and Diaz in 2015.<ref>Muñoz G., Diaz P.E. 2015: Checklist of parasites of labrid fishes (Pisces: Labridae). Viña del Mar, Chile. [http://www.cienciasdelmar.cl/images/academicos/Publicaciones/gabriela_munoz/CHECKLISt_TM.pdf PDF]. {{open access}}</ref> An example is the nematode ''Huffmanela ossicola''.

==Gallery== <gallery mode="packed" heights="110"> File:Humphead wrasse melb aquarium.jpg|Humphead wrasse, ''Cheilinus undulatus'', Melbourne Aquarium File:Coris gaimard and Labroides phthirophagus.JPG|A yellowtail coris wrasse, ''Coris gaimard'', is being cleaned by ''Labroides phthirophagus'' in Hawaii. File:Bird Wrasse.jpg|Bird wrasse, ''Gomphosus varius'', Kona (Hawaii) File:Gomphosus.jpg|''Gomphosus varius'' File:Birdmouth wrasse.jpg|''Gomphosus caeruleus'' swimming with a yellow goatfish File:Bluhead Wrasse.jpg|Bluehead wrasse, Belize Barrier Reef File:Clown wrasse coris aygula.JPG|Clown wrasse, ''Coris aygula'', Red Sea File:Anampses cuvieri.jpg|Pearl wrasse, ''Anampses cuvieri'', Hawaii File:Ladim u0.gif|Bluestreak wrasse, ''Labroides dimidiatus'' File:Six-line wrasse.jpg|Six-line wrasse '', Pseudocheilinus hexataenia'' File:A history of Scandinavian fishes (9661319663).jpg|Cuckoo wrasse and corkwing wrasse by Wilhelm von Wright File:Christmas Wrasse, Island of Hawai'i, Hawaii, USA imported from iNaturalist photo 63881659.jpg|Several wrasse species, including Christmas wrasse, ember parrotfish, and common parrotfish </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist}} *{{cite journal |last=Sepkoski |first=Jack |year=2002 |title=A compendium of fossil marine animal genera |journal=Bulletins of American Paleontology |volume=364 |page=560 |url=http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class |access-date=2011-05-18}}

== External links == {{Wiktionary}} {{Commons category|Labridae}} {{Wikispecies|Labridae}} * [https://www.fishbase.org/Summary/FamilySummary.php?ID=362 FishBase info for Labridae] * [https://www.livescience.com/835-fish-hire-cleaning-service.html How Fish Hire a Cleaning Service] * [http://www.danapointfishcompany.com/rock-wrasse-halichoeres-semicinctus/ Male and Female Images or Rock Wrasse Fish] * Smith, J.L.B. 1957. [http://vital.seals.ac.za:8080/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:14983?site_name=GlobalView List of the fishes of the Family Labridae in the Western Indian Ocean]. Ichthyological Bulletin; No. 7. Department of Ichthyology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa. * {{sealifephotos|125541|Wrasses}}

Category:Labridae Category:Taxa named by Georges Cuvier Category:Articles which contain graphical timelines