Habitat

LOCATION:
There are many regions in the world where the Napoleon Wrasse may be found, but they are prominently found throughout coral reefs from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, with abundance near Queensland, Australia (Encyclopedia Of Life 2013).  These fish are the largest of their kind and can specifically be found in the Red Sea, near southern Japan, New Caledonia, the southern coast of China, the African coast, and near Guam (Colin 2009).  Typically, these massive fish are found at depths no greater than 100m and most of the time they will migrate to deeper waters as they age and become larger (SCRFA 2013).

The Napoleon Wrasse associates itself with other organisms in its habitat.  A species of sea grass, four different kinds of hard coral, and one type of soft coral was found in the territory of these fish (IUCN 2004).  Both adult and juvenile fish generally reside in areas with a sea grass floor.  The only difference between their habitats would be that younger fish tend to occupy the inner parts of the reef while the adult fish are found near the outer parts of the reef or in deeper waters (IUCN 2004).  If other organisms such as crustaceans, mollusks, fish, or echinoderms are seen within their habitat, they will most likely be preyed upon (Shedd 2006).

LIFE STYLE:
These large fish tend to live alone or in pairs throughout the many different coral reefs.  Sometimes the Napoleon Wrasse will be seen in schools containing one male, two to seven other adults, and many juvenile fish.  It spends most of its days swimming throughout the reefs and during the night time they rest in caves or on coral, rarely occupying their true home (Bester 2013). 

DISTRIBUTION:
Below is a map displaying the distribution of the Napoleon Wrasses throughout the world.  The red markings indicate where the Napoleon Wrasse is found. To learn more about other organisms that live in the Great Barrier Reef, click here.

 
This map was created by Madison Geliche with the use of a map template.  Click here to view the blank map without the distribution of the Napoleon Wrasse.

Continue to Form and Function to examine the morphology in further detail.

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