The largest wrasse in the world, and endangered across most of its range.
To about 2 m and 190 kg, though fish over 1.5 m are now rare. Adults are blue-green with each scale carrying a vertical dark line, thick fleshy lips, two black lines running back from the eye, and a large forehead hump in mature males. Juveniles and young females are pale green-white with a dark bar through the eye and no hump, and are found in shallow coral and seagrass.
It feeds on hard-shelled prey — molluscs, urchins, crustaceans — and is one of the few predators that regularly takes crown-of-thorns starfish and boxfish. The species changes sex from female to male at around nine years, is slow-growing and long-lived, and has been heavily targeted for the live reef fish trade; it is listed as endangered and its trade is restricted under CITES. Individuals habituated to divers at particular sites will approach closely, but the species is naturally wary. Recorded from about 3 to 60 m.
Ratings are per location: 1 means found on most dives that look for it, 5 means a handful of records. Where enough dives have been logged the figure is calculated from them; otherwise it is an editorial estimate, and says so. We publish habitat and destination, not the dive site.