Clown Coris Wrasse Coris aygula

The Clown Coris Wrasse is named after the juvenile which is white with orange patches and black "buttons" like the costumes worn by traditional clowns. The adult looks totally different, the adult female being shown above with her two-tone olive green or cream and olive or reddish brown separated by a white belt and having a spotted face. All are born female.

The adult female transitions to male in later life, becoming darker and more uniform brown with the white belt and developing a humphead - it is sometimes called a Humphead Coris at this stage, although the Humphead Wrasse is a different species. It is a big wrasse, growing to 1.2 metres long. It is native to seas of the Indian and western Pacific Oceans, including off Africa through to Japan and Australia and the Pitcairn Islands.