Axillary wrasse

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?

Mediterranean rainbow wrasse have reddish-brown bodies, sometimes greener in seagrass, and whitish lips. Large males can reach about 18 centimetres; females remain smaller.

One dark patch sits high on the narrow section before the tail. A second lies at the pectoral fin base, on the side behind the head: brown in females, blue with a yellow border in males.

Male colours intensify during breeding, with blue lines or dots on the upper body.

WHERE DOES IT LIVE?

The species frequents rocky bottoms and seagrass beds. It is mostly found down to about twenty metres, although it can live deeper.

It moves close to the seabed, where it finds prey and the algae used to build the nest.

WHAT DOES IT EAT?

Its diet centres on molluscs. It also takes tube-dwelling worms, sea urchins and bryozoans, tiny attached animals living in colonies.

It may occasionally clean other fish. Material taken in this way supplements food gathered from the bottom.