Surge wrasse

The surge wrasse (Thalassoma purpureum), also known as the green-blocked wrasse, purple wrasse or red and green wrasse, is a species of wrasse native to the southeast Atlantic Ocean through the Indian and Pacific Oceans, where it inhabits reefs and rocky coastlines in areas of heavy wave action at depths from the surface to 10 m (33 ft). This species is of minor importance to local commercial fisheries, is popular as a game fish, and can be found in the aquarium trade.

Habitat

The surge wrasse, as its name suggests, is found in the surge zone of outer reef flats and on the reef margins of coral and rocky reefs. It is normally found in depths of less than 10 metres (33 ft). It lives groups of females which are spread out over large areas of reef and which are dominated by a few males which grow much larger than females. It is a carnivorous species which preys on small invertebrates such as crabs, sea urchins, brittlestars and molluscs, as well as small fishes and polychaete worms. It is a protogynous hermaphrodite, females change sex to become males and it is a pelagic spawner.

Distribution

The surge wrasse has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution which extends marginally into the south-eastern Atlantic along the coast of South Africa. Its main distribution in the Indian Ocean extends from the Red Sea south to South Africa east through the Indian Ocean islands and coasts of Asia to the Pacific Ocean where it extends north to Japan and south to Lord Howe Island, Kermadec Islands, and Rapa Islands and east as far as Panama in the eastern Pacific.