Parrotfishes & Wrasses
Creole Wrasse
Bodianus parrae
Species Overview
Moderately elongate, compressed wrasse, mainly violet to purple; large fish have a yellow wash on the lower two-thirds of the body; elongated dorsal/anal fin tips and pelvic tips blackish; dorsal fin XII/10, anal fin III/12–13 (FishBase).
- Size
- Typical adult 10–18 cm (4–7 in) (ReefGuide); common length 22 cm TL, maximum recorded 30 cm TL (11.8 in), max weight 320 g (FishBase).
- Habitat
- Marine, reef-associated; seaward reef slopes and occasionally shallow patch reefs, in midwater (FishBase).
- Diet
- Plankton, including small jellyfishes, pteropods, pelagic tunicates and invertebrate larvae (FishBase).
- Range
- Caribbean, Bahamas, Florida, Gulf, Bermuda (ReefGuide); western Atlantic from Bermuda, southern Florida and the Bahamas to northern South America (FishBase).
Life stages
Tail emarginate in young, lunate in adults; large individuals develop the yellow lower-body wash (FishBase); ReefGuide shows a Juvenile photo.
Ecological role
Midwater plankton feeder on reef slopes (FishBase).
Explore reef conservation
Learn about Caribbean reef habitats, invasive lionfish and the work of the Caribbean Reef Fish Foundation.
TL means total length; SL excludes the tail fin; FL measures to the tail fork. These measurements are not interchangeable.