Tail-spot Wrasse

Halichoeres melanurus

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Labriformes
Family: Labridae
Genus: Halichoeres
Species: Halichoeres melanurus

The tail-spot wrasse (Halichoeres melanurus) is a small, colourful wrasse whose males are banded in orange and blue-green with a dark spot at the base of the tail. Females and juveniles are striped in dark and pale lines, often with extra eyespots on the fins.

It grows to about 12 cm and forages busily over coral, rubble and sand, picking off tiny crustaceans, worms and molluscs. Like many wrasses it starts life as a female and can change sex to become a dominant male, and it buries itself in the sand to sleep at night.

The tail-spot wrasse is found in the western Pacific, including the Philippines, where it is common on shallow, sheltered reefs and lagoons.