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Comb Wrasse
Coris picta (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
A juvenile Comb Wrasse at a depth of 19m, North Solitary Island, New South Wales, January 2003. View larger image.
A juvenile Comb Wrasse at a depth of 14m, "The Docks", Jervis Bay, New South Wales, March 2001. View larger image.
The Comb Wrasse has a pointed snout and an elongate body that is covered with ctenoid (view scale pages) scales.
Adults have a broad mid-lateral black stripe with comb-like extensions ventrally, hence the common name. Mature male and female fish look similar, but within seconds males can assume a territorial or display colouration in which the black stripe disappears.
Juveniles resemble Striped Cleaner Wrasse (view fact sheet), a species well known for feeding on parasites of larger fishes. Juvenile Comb Wrasse can also pick parasites off larger fishes. Other species of fishes also feed in this way. View the fact sheets for the Eastern Cleaner Clingfish and Axilspot Hogfish.
The Comb Wrasse grows to 24cm in length.
It occurs in coastal and offshore rocky reefs in Australia and New Zealand.
In Australia the Comb Wrasse is known from southern Queensland to southern New South Wales.
View the Comb Wrasse on the FAQ (Why is it necessary to collect a specimen?) page.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Further reading
- Edgar, G.J. 1997. Australian Marine Life: the plants and animals of temperate waters. Reed Books. Pp. 544.
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2002. Fairy and Rainbow Wrasses and their Relatives. A Comprehensive Guide to Selected Labroids. TMC Publishing. Pp. 208.
