• Skip to main content
  • Français
Press
  • Home
  • Institute
    • Mediterranean species
      Annular seabream
      Axinella sponge
      Black scorpionfish
      Black seabream
      Black sea cucumber
      Black sea urchin
      Blacktailed wrasse
      Blotched picarel
      • About
      • › In brief
      • › Global advocacy
      • › 50+ years of history
      • The Team
      • › Organisation
      • The Aquarium
      • › About the aquarium
      • › Practical information
      • › Mediterranean species
      • › Mediterranean biotopes
      • A site in nature
      • › Les Embiez island
      • The Association
      • › Board of directors
      • › Honorary committee
      • › Become a member
  • Research
    • Research Programmes
      LIFE Pinnarca
      MaCoBios
      Posidonia oceanica seagrass m [...]
      New Innovative Feed for Susta [...]
      Environmental DNA (eDNA)
      Ich.T.O.
      Podestat
      Integrated multi-trophic aqua [...]
      • › Research programmes
      • › Research Center
      • › Scientific Communication
      • › International Cooperation
      • › Take OFF, Take Ocean For Future
  • Outreach
    • Environmental issues
      Climate
      Biodiversity
      Nature-based solutions
      Living resources
      Governance
      The Mediterranean, a model ocean
      • › Popular science
      • › Newsletter
      • › Media Library
      • › Press review
      • › Environmental issues
 › Abécédaire › Rainbow wrasse
Mediterranean species :

Rainbow wrasse

Very different colourings depending on age and sex
Did you know ?
As in other species, the large males used to be females before changing sex.

Rainbow wrasse have two very different colourings. In the initial phase, juveniles, females and primary males have orangey-brown backs and white bellies. The large, secondary-phase territorial males responsible for reproduction can grow to up to 25cm and are much more colourful. The belly is white while the back is green-brown with an orange zigzag band with blue borders running from head to tail and a black blotch in the centre. Rainbow wrasse feed on molluscs, crustaceans, worms and sea urchins. They live on rocky bottoms and in Posidonia seagrass beds down to 120m below the surface. They can be found in the Mediterranean, the south-western part of the Black Sea, and from Norway to Gabon in the Atlantic.

Tweet
Share
Share
0 Shares

Phylum: Vertebrates
Class: Osteichthyes
Order: Perciformes
Family: Labridae
Scientific name: Coris julis

French: Girelle
Spanish: Julia
Italian: Donzella
German: Brauner Meerjunker

Red black-faced blenny Prev
Orange-red encrusting sponge Next
Institut océanographique Paul Ricard
Île des Embiez - 83140 Six-Fours-les-Plages
Tél. +33 (0)4 94 34 02 49
  • › Partners
  • › Press
  • › Sitemap
  • › Terms & Conditions
  • › Privacy Policy
  • › Cookies Policy
  • › Credits