Redbreasted Wrasse
Cheilinus fasciatus
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Actinopterygii
- Order
- Perciformes
- Family
- Labridae
- Genus
- Cheilinus
- Species
- Cheilinus fasciatus
The redbreasted wrasse (Cheilinus fasciatus) is a robust wrasse with dark and white bands and a bright orange-red chest. Large males develop a slightly humped forehead and extended tail lobes.
It grows to around 35-40 cm. It hunts over mixed coral, sand and rubble, flipping over stones and digging for crabs, molluscs and sea urchins, and other fish often follow it to grab what it disturbs.
The redbreasted wrasse is found across the Indo-Pacific, including the Philippines, where it is a common and curious resident of coral reefs.