Red Coris Wrasse
Coris gaimard
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Actinopterygii
- Order
- Labriformes
- Family
- Labridae
- Genus
- Coris
- Species
- Coris gaimard
The red coris wrasse (Coris gaimard) is famous for its striking juvenile, an orange-red fish with several white, black-edged saddles that looks nothing like the adult. Adults are blue-green with a yellow tail and many blue spots.
It can reach around 40 cm. Juveniles move with a jerky, wobbling swim that may mimic a drifting leaf, while adults roam over rubble and sand, flipping over stones to find crabs, molluscs and other invertebrates. At night it buries itself in the sand.
The red coris wrasse is found across the Indo-Pacific, including the Philippines, where the eye-catching juveniles are a favourite of photographers on rubble and sandy reef slopes.