Corkwing wrasse
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| Symphodus melops | ||||||||||||||
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| Symphodus melops |
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the Corkwing wrasse (Symphodus (or Crenilabrus) melops) is a coastal wrasse, a fish of European waters.
[edit] Description
its body is deep and compressed sideways with a single, long dorsal fin. it is usually about 15cm long but has reached 25cm.
It is highly variable in colour, depending on the environment and age thaga of the fish. Corkwing wrasse have a black spot in the middle of the tail stalk, and a comma shaped spot behind the eye. The black spot fades, to be obscured by dark, vertical stripes, when the fish is sleeping or threatened. Females and juveniles tend to be brown or greenish-brown, while the male is typically more brightly coloured. Both sexes have lines on the head and gill covers which are brown and pale blue in the female, bright green or blue in the male.
[edit] Reproduction
Males build a ball-shaped nest of seaweed in rock crevices or, in sedimentary areas, amongst seaweed or seagrasses. the nest has an entrance hole which the male guards aggressively.
