Cheeklined Wrasse

Oxycheilinus digramma

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Labridae
Genus: Oxycheilinus
Species: Oxycheilinus digramma

The cheeklined wrasse (Oxycheilinus digramma) is a reddish-brown predatory wrasse with fine diagonal lines across its cheeks. Its colour ranges from greenish to deep red, and it can quickly change shade.

It reaches around 30-40 cm. It hunts small fish and crustaceans, often by shadowing goatfish or other foragers and pouncing on prey they flush out.

The cheeklined wrasse is found across the Indo-Pacific, including the Philippines, where it patrols coral reefs and rubble slopes.