Bluespotted Wrasse

The bluespotted wrasse, sometimes called the goldsaddle or diamond wrasse, changes markedly with age and sex. Juveniles and females are dusky with rows of pale blue spots, while large terminal males develop a vivid green sheen and a bright saddle-like band across the back, with fine blue streaks on the head.

A constant forager, it works over coral, reef rubble and sand on the northern KZN reefs, picking small invertebrates and using its stout teeth to crush shelled prey. Like many wrasses it buries itself in sand to sleep and when startled. Divers around Sodwana and Aliwal Shoal see it as a shy but colourful reef inhabitant that keeps moving and rarely lets one get close.