Fw: wonder of the week

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www.oceana.org

 

WONDER OF THE WEEK

 

A Fish With The Memory Of An Elephant

 

The Napoleon Wrasse (Cheilinus undulates) is the largest of the wrasses and

a favorite of scuba divers. This friendly, curious fish can live for up to

50 years and has a phenomenal memory. The Napoleon Wrasse actually

remembers divers who have swum with it in the past! They are some of the

biggest fish divers may encounter near coral reefs--growing to over 7 feet

long and reaching weights of 400 pounds. It is known as the Napoleon Wrasse

because its distinctively-shaped head is reminiscent of old-style French

military headgear.

 

Where They Live

 

Napoleon Wrasses swim in tropical waters at depths of 3 to 180 feet. They

live along the steep outer slopes of coral reefs, channel slopes and lagoon

reefs. Young wrasses are often found taking shelter among the corals of

lagoon reefs. The adults pass their days feeding among the reefs and spend

their nights resting in caves and under coral ledges.

 

Not Cross Dressers, Just Hermaphrodites

 

The sex life of Napoleon Wrasses is still quite a mystery to scientists.

They are sequential hermphrodites, meaning that they all start life as males

and change to females as they reach sexual maturity. When a vacancy for a

dominant male opens, one female wrasse will transform into the new “super

male”. His superiority will be advertised to all by the huge bump on his

forehead which marks him as the “alpha male”.

 

What They Eat

 

Napoleon Wrasses eat mainly fish, sea urchins, shrimp, lobsters, sea slugs,

mussels, and clams, crushing the hard-shelled animals with their pharyngeal

teeth. They are one of the few fish that is able to eat toxic animals like

sea hares, box fish and crown-of-thorns starfish.

 

Current Status

 

Unfortunately, the Napoleon Wrasse is one of the first marine animals to be

listed on the IUCN Red List as vulnerable to extinction. This is mainly due

to the fact that Napoleon Wrasse is a very popular menu item in much of

Asia. It is particularly coveted in Hong Kong where diners in gourmet

restaurants pay huge sums of money to eat the fish alive, peeling back

layers of flesh to make sure the fish’s heart is still beating before

digging in. In order to capture the fish alive, local divers use cyanide to

stun the fish, killing coral, fish and all other life nearby in the process.

Although they are destroying habitat, killing off numerous species, and

endangering their own health, local fishermen and divers (who tend to be

young, poor and underprivileged) simply cannot afford to pass up the

comparatively huge sums they can make capturing live fish with cyanide. The

live fish trade threatens the Napoleon Wrasse and all the other animals and

plants that share its habitat. Click here

 

http://www.imamarinelife.org/content/awareness/awareness_status_cyanide_fish

ing.htm

 

to learn more about cyanide fishing.

 

Click here

 

http://www.oceannenvironment.com.au/content.htm

 

to learn more about the Napwatch program and what to do if you spot an

endangered Napoleon Wrasse.