Unique habits and habitat of Napoleon fish and scorpionfish
Unique habits and habitat of Napoleon fish and scorpionfish
Learn about the humphead wrasse (sometimes called Napoleon fish) and scorpionfish, which can be found in the waters of the Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia.
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Transcript
The coral islands of the Tuamotu archipelago, with its 78 atolls, provide a unique habitat for a variety of coral fish. Here, the humphead wrasse lives. Together with some giant grouper species it belongs to the largest coral fish. The male grows up to two meters, while the female is visibly smaller with an average size of one meter. He attains sexual maturity at the age of 5-8 years. Then the patterns on the body, that can still be seen well on young animals fade and the hump on the head together with the lips start to grow. The hump is reminiscent of the two-pointed hat of the French emperor Napoleon. That’s why he is called a Napoleon fish. They often hide in schools of other fish. Colored blue to green, the animals are well camouflaged. With increasing age, their colors get richer.
During the mating season the Napoleon fish gathers in small groups that are dominated by males. Males can transform themselves into females when needed, but it is not exactly known whereby this change is triggered. The Napoleon fish is a loner and avoids contact with his own kind. Active during the day, he comes to go foraging for food in the upper levels of the coral reefs. Otherwise the Napoleon fish lives in the first 100 meters of depth. They are site-bound and remain in their area. The humphead wrasse feeds on the variety the reef has to offer. He breaks whole corals to find potential prey: snails, shells and sea urchins. Crown of thorns starfish that invade the whole coral reefs and eat them bare within a short time are being decimated by the wrasse. This species has no high population density by nature. There are rarely more than 10 wrasses at one reef. Since the existence of the Napoleon wrasse is endangered, it also comes back to uncontrolled starfish populations and bare eaten coral reefs. The Napoleon is poached for the fish markets in Hong Kong and Singapore, and also in Indonesia he is chased and high prices are realized with his flesh.
At the edge of the rock reefs where the ocean floor drops to great depths, lives an impressive variety of living things. Most of them only survive if they stay undetected through the day, but also the lurking hunters are masters of a sophisticated cloaking technique. The scorpion fish is specialized to make himself invisible and is very different in its appearance and behavior of other fish. He is a predator that mainly resides at the bottom. He lurks undetected and motionless until he widely opens his mouth at once and successfully captures a fish. The most important part of his camouflage are the excrescences of the body. These give other fish the impression as if they were parts of plants in the reef. Smaller fish swim close to the scorpion fish without hesitation. The red-brown, marbled coloration makes the fish almost invisible on the ground, but there are also green species that hide in seaweed. While most types of rock and coral reefs offer a suitable habitat, the young specimens mostly live shy in the protection of underwater caves, which are difficult to access. For them, the optical camouflage is not yet brought to perfection, since the excrescences are not fully developed. However, since the young fish grow rapidly and molt several times a month, they will also be real masters of camouflage soon.
Scorpion fish are named due to the poisonous spines, located along the entire ridge of the back and the pelvic fins. These are only erected in case of danger and not used for hunting. If the experienced diver has discovered one of the bizarre scorpion fish, this will be a sight to behold.
During the mating season the Napoleon fish gathers in small groups that are dominated by males. Males can transform themselves into females when needed, but it is not exactly known whereby this change is triggered. The Napoleon fish is a loner and avoids contact with his own kind. Active during the day, he comes to go foraging for food in the upper levels of the coral reefs. Otherwise the Napoleon fish lives in the first 100 meters of depth. They are site-bound and remain in their area. The humphead wrasse feeds on the variety the reef has to offer. He breaks whole corals to find potential prey: snails, shells and sea urchins. Crown of thorns starfish that invade the whole coral reefs and eat them bare within a short time are being decimated by the wrasse. This species has no high population density by nature. There are rarely more than 10 wrasses at one reef. Since the existence of the Napoleon wrasse is endangered, it also comes back to uncontrolled starfish populations and bare eaten coral reefs. The Napoleon is poached for the fish markets in Hong Kong and Singapore, and also in Indonesia he is chased and high prices are realized with his flesh.
At the edge of the rock reefs where the ocean floor drops to great depths, lives an impressive variety of living things. Most of them only survive if they stay undetected through the day, but also the lurking hunters are masters of a sophisticated cloaking technique. The scorpion fish is specialized to make himself invisible and is very different in its appearance and behavior of other fish. He is a predator that mainly resides at the bottom. He lurks undetected and motionless until he widely opens his mouth at once and successfully captures a fish. The most important part of his camouflage are the excrescences of the body. These give other fish the impression as if they were parts of plants in the reef. Smaller fish swim close to the scorpion fish without hesitation. The red-brown, marbled coloration makes the fish almost invisible on the ground, but there are also green species that hide in seaweed. While most types of rock and coral reefs offer a suitable habitat, the young specimens mostly live shy in the protection of underwater caves, which are difficult to access. For them, the optical camouflage is not yet brought to perfection, since the excrescences are not fully developed. However, since the young fish grow rapidly and molt several times a month, they will also be real masters of camouflage soon.
Scorpion fish are named due to the poisonous spines, located along the entire ridge of the back and the pelvic fins. These are only erected in case of danger and not used for hunting. If the experienced diver has discovered one of the bizarre scorpion fish, this will be a sight to behold.