Wrasse#Cleaner wrasse

The word "wrasse" comes from the Cornish word wragh, a lenited form of gwragh, meaning an old woman or hag, via Cornish dialect wrath. It is related to the Welsh gwrach and Breton gwrac'h.{{cite web |title=Wrasse | Define Wrasse at Dictionary.com |publisher=Dictionary.reference.com |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Wrasse |access-date=2012-06-28}}

File:Phyllopharyngodon longipinnis.jpg (Eocene)]]

Parrotfish were traditionally regarded as comprising their own family (Scaridae), but are now often treated as a subfamily (Scarinae) or tribe (Scarini) of the wrasses (Labridae), being nested deep within the wrasse phylogenetic tree.{{Cite journal |last=Westneat |first=Mark W. |last2=Alfaro |first2=Michael E. |date=2005-03-11 |title=Phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history of the reef fish family Labridae |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1055790305000400 |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |language=en |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=370–390 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2005.02.001|url-access=subscription }} The odacine wrasses, traditionally classified as forming their own family, were found nested deep within the wrasse tribe Hypsigenyini, and most closely related to the tuskfishes.{{Cite journal |last=Hughes |first=Lily C |last2=Nash |first2=Chloe M |last3=White |first3=William T |last4=Westneat |first4=Mark W |date=2023-06-17 |editor-last=Matschiner |editor-first=Michael |title=Concordance and Discordance in the Phylogenomics of the Wrasses and Parrotfishes (Teleostei: Labridae) |url=https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/article/72/3/530/6798871 |journal=Systematic Biology |language=en |volume=72 |issue=3 |pages=530–543 |doi=10.1093/sysbio/syac072 |issn=1063-5157}} Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes currently places the parrotfishes within the wrasses, but treats the odacids as a distinct family.{{Cite web |last=Fricke |first=R. |last2=Eschmeyer |first2=W. N. |last3=Van der Laan |first3=R. |date=2025 |title=ESCHMEYER'S CATALOG OF FISHES: CLASSIFICATION |url=https://www.calacademy.org/eschmeyers-catalog-of-fishes-classification |access-date=2025-02-10 |website=California Academy of Sciences |language=en}}

The following fossil genera are also known, lacking a proper tribal placement:{{Cite journal |last=Bellwood |first=David R. |last2=Schultz |first2=Ortwin |last3=Siqueira |first3=Alexandre C. |last4=Cowman |first4=Peter F. |date=2019 |title=A review of the fossil record of the Labridae |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26595690 |journal=Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien. Serie A für Mineralogie und Petrographie, Geologie und Paläontologie, Anthropologie und Prähistorie |volume=121 |pages=125–194 |issn=0255-0091}}

• †Bellwoodilabrus Bannikov & Carnevale, 2010
• †Eocoris Bannikov & Soribini, 2010
• †Labrobolcus Bannikov & Bellwood, 2015
• ?†Paralabrus Bannikov & Zorzini, 2019{{Cite journal |last=BANNIKOV |first=ALEXANDRE F |last2=ZORZIN |first2=ROBERTO |date=2019 |title=Paralabrus rossiae, a new genus and species of putative labroid fish (Perciformes) from the Eocene of Bolca in northern Italy |url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/A-Bannikov/publication/336367425_Paralabrus_rossiae_a_new_genus_and_species_of_putative_labroid_fish_Perciformes_from_the_Eocene_of_Bolca_in_northern_Italy/links/5d9ddd4ca6fdcc04fac4a9a8/Paralabrus-rossiae-a-new-genus-and-species-of-putative-labroid-fish-Perciformes-from-the-Eocene-of-Bolca-in-northern-Italy.pdf |journal=Studi e ricerche sui giacimenti terziari di Bolca |volume=XIX |issue=16 |pages=39-47 |via=}}
• †Wainwrightilabrus Carnevale, 2015
• †Zorzinilabrus Bannikov & Bellwood, 2017

Fossil wrasses date to the Early Eocene of Monte Bolca, Italy. Among these is Phyllopharyngodon, which can uniquely be placed in the extant tribe Hypsigenyini. Wrasses appear to have had an even wider distribution in prehistoric times, with fossil remains being known from the Middle Eocene-aged La Meseta Formation of Antarctica. They were presumably wiped out from Antarctica following the continent's cooling during the Oligocene.{{Cite journal |last=Long |first=Douglas J. |date=1992 |title=An Eocene wrasse (Perciformes; Labridae) from Seymour Island |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antarctic-science/article/abs/an-eocene-wrasse-perciformes-labridae-from-seymour-island/37BFEEEC4D8AFBEE71F79233646572B5 |journal=Antarctic Science |language=en |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=235–237 |doi=10.1017/S095410209200035X |issn=1365-2079|url-access=subscription }}

File:Britannica Wrasse.jpg

File:Corl0263 (28200513552) (cropped).jpg (left) and humphead wrasse (right).]]

Wrasses have protractile mouths, usually with separate jaw teeth that jut outwards.

{{cite journal |last1=Wainwright |first1=Peter C. |last2=Alfaro |first2=Michael E. |last3=Bolnick |first3=Daniel I. |last4=Hulsey |first4=C. Darrin |year=2005 |title=Many-to-One Mapping of Form to Function: A General Principle in Organismal Design? |journal=Integrative and Comparative Biology |doi=10.1093/icb/45.2.256 |pmid=21676769 |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=256–262|doi-access=free }} Many species can be readily recognized by their thick lips, the inside of which is sometimes curiously folded, a peculiarity which gave rise to the German name of "lip-fishes" (Lippfische),{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Wrasse|volume=28|page=839}} and the Dutch name of lipvissen. The dorsal fin has eight to 21 spines and six to 21 soft rays, usually running most of the length of the back. Wrasses are sexually dimorphic. Many species are capable of changing sex. Juveniles are a mix of males and females (known as initial-phase individuals), but the largest adults become territory-holding (terminal-phase) males.

File:Wetmorella albofasciata (Fiji).jpg), one of the smallest wrasse species.]]

The wrasses have become a primary study species in fish-feeding biomechanics due to their jaw structures. The nasal and mandibular bones are connected at their posterior ends to the rigid neurocranium, and the superior and inferior articulations of the maxilla are joined to the anterior tips of these two bones, respectively, creating a loop of four rigid bones connected by moving joints. This "four-bar linkage" has the property of allowing numerous arrangements to achieve a given mechanical result (fast jaw protrusion or a forceful bite), thus decoupling morphology from function. The actual morphology of wrasses reflects this, with many lineages displaying different jaw morphology that results in the same functional output in a similar or identical ecological niche.

Most wrasses inhabit the tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, though some species live in temperate waters: the Ballan wrasse is found as far north as Norway. Wrasses are usually found in shallow-water habitats such as coral reefs and rocky shores, where they live close to the substrate.

Most labrids are protogynous hermaphrodites within a haremic mating system.

{{Cite journal

| last1 = Robertson

| first1 = D.R.

|last2=Warner |first2=R.R.

| year = 1978

| title = Sexual patterns in the labroid fishes of the Western Caribbean II: the parrotfishes (Scaridae)

| journal = Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology

| doi = 10.5479/si.00810282.255

| volume = 255

| issue = 255

| pages = 1–26

}}

{{Cite journal

| last1 = Kazancioglu

| first1 = E.

| last2=Alonzo |first2=S.H.

| year = 2010

| title = A comparative analysis of sex change in Labridae supports the size advantage hypothesis

| journal = Evolution

| doi = 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2010.01016.x

| pmid=20394662

| volume = 64

| issue = 8

| pages = 2254–226

| doi-access = free

}} A good example of this reproductive behavior is seen in the California sheephead. Hermaphroditism allows for complex mating systems. Labroids exhibit three different mating systems: polygynous, lek-like, and promiscuous.

{{cite journal

| last1 = Colin

| first1 = P.L.

|last2=Bell |first2=L. J.

| year = 1992

| title = Aspects of the spawning of labrid and scarid fishes (Pisces, Labroidei) at Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands with notes on other families (corrected reprint.)

| journal = Environmental Biology of Fishes

| doi = 10.1007/BF00005881

| volume = 33

| issue = 3

| pages = 330–345

| doi-access = free

}} Group spawning and pair spawning occur within mating systems. The type of spawning that occurs depends on male body size. Labroids typically exhibit broadcast spawning, releasing high numbers of planktonic eggs, which are broadcast by tidal currents; adult labroids have no interaction with offspring.

{{cite journal

| last1 = Hanel

| first1 = R. |last2=Westneat |first2=M. W. |last3=Sturmbauer |first3=C.

|date=December 2002

| title = Phylogenetic relationships, evolution of broodcare behavior, and geographic speciation in the Wrasse tribe Labrini.

| journal = Journal of Molecular Evolution

| doi = 10.1007/s00239-002-2373-6

| pmid = 12486536

| volume = 55

| issue = 6

| pages = 776–789

| bibcode = 2002JMolE..55..776H | s2cid = 3002410 }} Wrasses of a particular subgroup of the family Labridae, Labrini, do not exhibit broadcast spawning.

Sex change in wrasses is generally female-to-male, but experimental conditions have allowed for male-to-female sex change. Placing two male Labroides dimidiatus wrasses in the same tank results in the smaller of the two becoming female again.

{{Cite journal

| last1 = Kuwamura

| first1 = T.

|last2=Tanaka |first2=N. |last3=Nakashima |first3=Y. |last4=Karino |first4=K. |last5=Sakai |first5=Y

| year=2002

| title = Reversed sex-change in the protogynous reef fish Labroides dimidiatus

| journal = Ethology

| doi = 10.1046/j.1439-0310.2002.00791.x

| volume = 108

| issue = 5

| pages = 443–450

| bibcode = 2002Ethol.108..443K

}} Additionally, while the individual to change sex is generally the largest female,

{{Cite journal

| last1 = Munday

| first1 = P. L.

|last2=Ryen |first2=C. A. |last3=McCormick |first3=M. I. |last4=Walker |first4=S. P. W.

| year=2009

| title = Growth acceleration, behaviour and otolith check marks associated with sex change in the wrasse Halichoeres miniatus

| journal = Coral Reefs

| doi = 10.1007/s00338-009-0499-3

| volume = 28

| issue = 3

| pages = 623–634

| bibcode = 2009CorRe..28..623M

| s2cid = 38928952

}} evidence also exists of the largest female instead "choosing" to remain female in situations in which she can maximize her evolutionary fitness by refraining from changing sex.

{{Cite journal

| last1 = Munoz

| first1 = R. C.

|last2=Warner |first2=R. R.

| year=2003

| title = A new version of the size-advantage hypothesis for sex change: incorporating sperm competition and size-fecundity skew

| journal = American Naturalist

| doi = 10.1086/374345

| pmid = 12858282

| volume = 161

| issue = 5

| pages = 749–761

| s2cid = 33000631

}}

The subgroup Labrini arose from a basal split within family Labridae during the Eocene period. Subgroup Labrini is composed of eight genera, wherein 15 of 23 species exhibit broodcare behavior, which ranges from simple to complex parental care of spawn; males build algae nests or crude cavities, ventilate eggs, and defend nests against conspecific males and predators. In species that express this behavior, eggs cannot survive without parental care.

{{cite journal

| last1 = Taborsky

| first1 = M. |last2=Hudde |first2=B. |last3=Wirtz |first3=P.

| year = 1987

| title = Reproductive behavior and ecology of Symphodus (Crenilabrus) ocellatus, a European wrasse with four types of male behavior

| journal = Behaviour

| doi = 10.1163/156853986x00063

| volume = 102

| issue = 1–2

| pages = 82–118

}} Species of Symphodus, Centrolabrus, and Labrus genera exhibit broodcare behavior.

Wrasses exhibit three types of sexual development, depending on the species. Sex in this context refers to functional sex, ie the individual's role when mating. Some species show functional gonochorism, meaning that they are born functionally either male or female, and remain so for their entire life; there is no sex change. Meanwhile, functionally hermaphoditic species exhibit sex change, and are protogynous, meaning that individuals that are functionally female can become functionally male. These protogynous species are either monandric (all individuals are born functionally female, but can become functionally male) or diandric (individuals can be born either female or male, and individuals that are born female can become male).{{Cite journal |last=Lowe |first=Jake R. |last2=Russ |first2=Garry R. |last3=Bucol |first3=Abner A. |last4=Abesamis |first4=Rene A. |last5=Choat |first5=John H. |date=2021 |title=Geographic variability in the gonadal development and sexual ontogeny of , and wrasses among Indo-Pacific coral reefs |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jfb.14842 |journal=Journal of Fish Biology |language=en |volume=99 |issue=4 |pages=1348–1363 |doi=10.1111/jfb.14842 |issn=1095-8649|url-access=subscription }}

Evolutionarily, wrasse lineages trend towards developing monandry.{{Citation |last=Hodge |first=Jennifer R. |title=Correlated evolution of sex allocation and mating system in wrasses and parrotfishes |date=2019-06-10 |url=http://biorxiv.org/lookup/doi/10.1101/665638 |access-date=2025-01-07 |language=en |doi=10.1101/665638 |last2=Santini |first2=Francesco |last3=Wainwright |first3=Peter C.|doi-access=free }} Monandric lineages rarely transition directly to diandry, instead transitioning through functional gonochorism first on the pathway to diandry.

Many species of wrasses have been recorded using large rocks or hard coral as "anvils", upon which they smash open hard-shelled prey items. At least some of these species can remember to use a particular rock or coral repeatedly for this purpose.{{Cite journal |last=Pryor |first=Kimberley Jane |date=2022 |title=Tool use by the orange wrasse Pseudolabrus luculentus and doubleheader Coris bulbifrons |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/maec.12727 |journal=Marine Ecology |language=en |volume=43 |issue=6 |pages=e12727 |doi=10.1111/maec.12727 |issn=1439-0485|url-access=subscription }} This behaviour usually involves invertebrate prey such as clams, sea urchins, and crabs, but on one occasion, a blue tuskfish was filmed smashing a young green sea turtle on an anvil.{{Cite journal |last=Harborne |first=A. R. |last2=Tholan |first2=B. A. |date=September 2016 |title=Tool use by Choerodon cyanodus when handling vertebrate prey |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00338-016-1448-6 |journal=Coral Reefs |language=en |volume=35 |issue=3 |pages=1069–1069 |doi=10.1007/s00338-016-1448-6 |issn=0722-4028}}

21 species of 8 genera have been documented exhibiting this behaviour, including Choerodon (C. anchorago, C. cyanodus, C. graphicus, C. schoenleinii), Coris (C. aygula, C. bulbifrons, C. julis, C. sandeyeri), Cheilinus (C. fasciatus, C. lunulatus, C. trilobatus), Thalassoma (T. hardwicke, T. jansenii, T. lunare, T. lutescens, T. pavo), Symphodus (S. mediterraneus), Halichoeres (H. garnoti, H. hortulanus), Bodianus (B. pulcher), and Pseudolabrus (P. luculentus).{{Cite journal |last=Jaishankar |first=Siddhi |last2=Nair |first2=Radhika |last3=Alcoverro |first3=Teresa |last4=Arthur |first4=Rohan |date=2024-04-01 |title=Anvil use by three wrasse species: Halichoeres hortulanus, Thalassoma jansenii, and Thalassoma lunare |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00338-024-02467-y |journal=Coral Reefs |language=en |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=483–487 |doi=10.1007/s00338-024-02467-y |issn=1432-0975|url-access=subscription }}

[[Hawaiian cleaner wrasses working on gill area of dragon wrasse Novaculichthys taeniourus, on a reef in Hawaii|thumb|right|alt=Photo of two small wrasses cleaning large wrasse's gills]]

Cleaner wrasses are the best-known of the cleaner fish. They live in a cleaning symbiosis with larger, often predatory, fish, grooming them and benefiting by consuming what they remove. "Client" fish congregate at wrasse "cleaning stations" and wait for the cleaner fish to remove gnathiid parasites, the cleaners even swimming into their open mouths and gill cavities to do so.[https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/03/the-fish-that-makes-other-fish-smarter/554924/ "The Fish That Makes Other Fish Smarter"] by Ed Yong, The Atlantic, March 7, 2018

Cleaner wrasses are best known for feeding on dead tissue, scales, and ectoparasites, although they are also known to 'cheat', consuming healthy tissue and mucus, which is energetically costly for the client fish to produce. The bluestreak cleaner wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus, is one of the most common cleaners found on tropical reefs. Few cleaner wrasses have been observed being eaten by predators, possibly because parasite removal is more important for predator survival than the short-term gain of eating the cleaner.Trivers, R. L. 1971

In a 2019 study, cleaner wrasses passed the mirror test, the first fish to do so.{{Cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2178329-a-species-of-fish-has-passed-the-mirror-test-for-the-first-time/|title=A species of fish has passed the mirror test for the first time|website=New Scientist}} However, the test's inventor, American psychologist Gordon G. Gallup, has said that the fish were most likely trying to scrape off a perceived parasite on another fish and that they did not demonstrate self-recognition. The authors of the study retorted that because the fish checked themselves in the mirror before and after the scraping, this meant that the fish had self-awareness and recognized that their reflections belonged to their own bodies.{{Cite web|date=2019-02-07|title=This tiny fish can recognize itself in a mirror. Is it self-aware?|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/09/fish-cleaner-wrasse-self-aware-mirror-test-intelligence-news/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917071929/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/09/fish-cleaner-wrasse-self-aware-mirror-test-intelligence-news/|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 17, 2018|access-date=2020-05-11|website=Animals|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Ye|first=Yvaine|title=A species of fish has passed the mirror test for the first time|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2178329-a-species-of-fish-has-passed-the-mirror-test-for-the-first-time/|access-date=2020-05-11|website=New Scientist|language=en-US}}{{Cite journal|last1=Kohda|first1=Masanori|last2=Takashi|first2=Hatta|last3=Takeyama|first3=Tmohiro|last4=Awata|first4=Satoshi|last5=Tanaka|first5=Hirokazu|last6=Asai|first6=Jun-ya|last7=Jordan|first7=Alex|date=2018-08-21|title=Cleaner wrasse pass the mark test. What are the implications for consciousness and self-awareness testing in animals?|url=https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/08/21/397067|journal=bioRxiv|language=en|pages=397067|doi=10.1101/397067|doi-access=free}} In a 2024 study, "mirror-naive" bluestreak cleaner wrasse were reported to initially show aggression to wrasse photographs sized 10% larger or 10% smaller than themselves, regardless of size. However, upon viewing their reflections in a mirror, they avoided confronting photographs 10% larger than they were.{{Cite journal |last=Kobayashi |first=Taiga |last2=Kohda |first2=Masanori |last3=Awata |first3=Satoshi |last4=Bshary |first4=Redouan |last5=Sogawa |first5=Shumpei |date=2024-09-11 |title=Cleaner fish with mirror self-recognition capacity precisely realize their body size based on their mental image |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-70138-7 |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=20202 |doi=10.1038/s41598-024-70138-7 |issn=2045-2322|pmc=11390716 }}

In the Western Atlantic coastal region of North America, the most common food species for indigenous humans was the tautog, a species of wrasse. Wrasses today are commonly found in both public and home aquaria. Some species are small enough to be considered reef safe. They may also be employed as cleaner fish to combat sea-lice infestations in salmon farms.{{cite web |title=Sea Lice |publisher=Scottish Salmon Producers' Organisation |url=http://www.scottishsalmon.co.uk/science/sea_lice%284%29.aspx |access-date=8 June 2011 |archive-date=15 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130915164124/http://www.scottishsalmon.co.uk/science/sea_lice(4).aspx |url-status=dead }} Commercial fish farming of cleaner wrasse for sea-lice pest control in commercial salmon farming has developed in Scotland [https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-33872443 as lice busters], with apparent commercial benefit and viability.

As all fish, labrids are the hosts of a number of parasites. A list of 338 parasite taxa from 127 labrid fish species was provided by Muñoz and Diaz in 2015.Muñoz G., Diaz P.E. 2015: Checklist of parasites of labrid fishes (Pisces: Labridae). Viña del Mar, Chile. [http://www.cienciasdelmar.cl/images/academicos/Publicaciones/gabriela_munoz/CHECKLISt_TM.pdf PDF]. {{open access}} An example is the nematode Huffmanela ossicola.

File:Humphead wrasse melb aquarium.jpg|Humphead wrasse, Cheilinus undulatus, Melbourne Aquarium

File:Coris gaimard and Labroides phthirophagus.JPG|A yellowtail coris wrasse, Coris gaimard, is being cleaned by Labroides phthirophagus in Hawaii.

File:Bird Wrasse.jpg|Bird wrasse, Gomphosus varius, Kona (Hawaii)

File:Gomphosus.jpg|Gomphosus varius

File:Birdmouth wrasse.jpg|Gomphosus caeruleus swimming with a yellow goatfish

File:Bluhead Wrasse.jpg|Bluehead wrasse, Belize Barrier Reef

File:Clown wrasse coris aygula.JPG|Clown wrasse, Coris aygula, Red Sea

File:Anampses cuvieri.jpg|Pearl wrasse, Anampses cuvieri, Hawaii

File:Ladim u0.gif|Bluestreak wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus

File:Six-line wrasse.jpg|Six-line wrasse , Pseudocheilinus hexataenia

File:A history of Scandinavian fishes (9661319663).jpg|Cuckoo wrasse and corkwing wrasse by Wilhelm von Wright

File:Christmas Wrasse, Island of Hawai'i, Hawaii, USA imported from iNaturalist photo 63881659.jpg|Several wrasse species, including Christmas wrasse, ember parrotfish, and common parrotfish.

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite journal |last=Sepkoski |first=Jack |year=2002 |title=A compendium of fossil marine animal genera |journal=Bulletins of American Paleontology |volume=364 |page=560 |url=http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class |access-date=2011-05-18}}

{{Wiktionary}}

{{Commons category|Labridae}}

{{Wikispecies|Labridae}}

• [http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/FamilySummary.cfm?ID=362 FishBase info for Labridae]
• [http://www.livescience.com/835-fish-hire-cleaning-service.html How Fish Hire a Cleaning Service]
• [http://www.danapointfishcompany.com/rock-wrasse-halichoeres-semicinctus/ Male and Female Images or Rock Wrasse Fish]
• Smith, J.L.B. 1957. [http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018950 List of the fishes of the Family Labridae in the Western Indian Ocean]. Ichthyological Bulletin; No. 7. Department of Ichthyology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.
• {{sealifephotos|125541|Wrasses}}

{{Diversity of fish}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q208722}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Taxa named by Georges Cuvier

Category:Articles which contain graphical timelines