- "I caught a Napoleonfish! Viva la me!"
The Napoleonfish, Cheilinus undulatus, is a rare oceanic fish that can be found all day, between the months of July and August. It can be sold for 10,000 Bells.
Museum[]
An information board in the aquarium will provide information about this fish.
"Called Napoleonfish, these fish also have the more accurate name of humphead wrasse. The true name comes from the distinctive humps on their heads. But "Napoleonfish" is more popular. When small, all Napoleonfish are females, but some become males as they age and their humps grow. Their bodies also turn a bluer shade as they mature and become males, making identification simple. Their bulky bodies, which can get to about six feet long, still glide easily through warm tropical seas. Finding these fish is a real treat for divers, as they're stunning to see - and it's a great story to tell."
In real life[]
The Humphead Wrasse can mainly be found in the Indo-Pacific region. It is also known as the Māori Wrasse, Napoleon Wrasse; or "So Mei" 蘇眉 (Cantonese) and "Mameng" (Filipino). Adults are commonly found on steep coral reef slopes, channel slopes, and lagoon reefs in waters 3 to 330 feet deep. Males can reach up to 6 feet in length, while females rarely exceed about 3 feet. It has thick, fleshy lips and a hump that forms on its head above the eyes, becoming more prominent as the fish ages. Males range from a bright electric blue to green, a purplish blue, or a relatively dull blue/green. Juveniles and females are red-orange above, and red-orange to white below.
They are very opportunistic predators preying primarily on crustaceans, mollusks-particularly gastropods-fish, and echinoderms. They are one of the few predators of toxic animals such as the sea hare and boxfish, and have even been reported preying on crown-of-thorns starfish.
The humphead wrasse is long lived, but has a very slow breeding rate. Its numbers have declined due to numerous threats.
Gallery[]
