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Bird Wrasse
Gomphosus varius Lacépède, 1801

A terminal phase Bird Wrasse at a depth of 8m, Ribbon Reef #10, off Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, December 2001. View larger image.

An initial phase Bird Wrasse at a depth of 10m, Ribbon Reef #10, off Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, December 2001. View larger image.

A Bird Wrasse at a depth of 12m, Ribbon Reef #3, off Cooktown, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, December 2001. View larger image.

The common name of the Bird Wrasse refers to the fish's long snout that is thought to resemble a bird's beak.

Juvenile Bird Wrasse are green above and white below with two black stripes along the length of the body. Their snout is less elongate than adults.

Initial phase (more information) Bird Wrasse, (see middle image), are white with a black spot on each scale that gives the fish a speckled look. The top of the snout is orange, and the caudal fin is black with a white border.

Terminal phase Bird Wrasse have a blue-green body with a red line on each scale. The snout is blue-green and the caudal fin has a bright blue crescent.

This species grows to 30cm in length.

Bird Wrasse inhabit lagoons and coral-rich reef areas. It is often seen in small groups or singly. The snout is used to probe the coral for prey, primarily crustaceans, brittle stars, molluscs and small fishes.

It is found in depths from 1m to 30m.

This species occurs in tropical marine waters of the West-Central Pacific, from the Cocos-Keeling Islands, throughout South-east Asia and Micronesia, north to Japan, south to Australia and east to the Tuamoto Islands.

In Australia it is known from the north-western coast of Western Australia, around the tropical north of the country, and south to the southern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland.

View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.

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Bird Wrasse Gomphosus varius Lacépède, 1801

Further reading

Bird Wrasse
Gomphosus varius Lacépède, 1801