Scientific name : Coris julis
Family : Labridae (wrasses, napoleons… 559 species)
Size : Up to 30 cm
Distribution : Mainly in the Mediterranean Sea and the Bay of Biscay
Biology : Like most labrids, the common wrasse changes sex during its life, and is said to be a successive hermaphrodite.
It starts life as a female, recognisable by its reddish stripes, then becomes a male, orange and turquoise in colour.
It eats all kinds of small prey, such as crustaceans. Young leatherbacks have been known to eat parasites from other fish.
IUCN status : Least concern
