Two-spot Wrasse

Oxycheilinus bimaculatus

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Labriformes
Family: Labridae
Genus: Oxycheilinus
Species: Oxycheilinus bimaculatus

The two-spot wrasse (Oxycheilinus bimaculatus) is a small, mottled wrasse with a dark spot behind the eye and another on the side of the body. Males have a long, pointed tail fin and can show bright red, green and pink tones.

It grows to about 15 cm and lives among algae, seagrass and rubble, where its blotchy colours give it good camouflage. It hunts small crustaceans and fish, often hovering motionless before darting forward.

The two-spot wrasse is found across the Indo-Pacific, including the Philippines, where it lives on shallow reefs and rubble slopes. It is a relative of the cheeklined wrasse.