Napoleon Wrasse
The Napoleon Wrasse, also known as the Humphead Wrasse or Maori Wrasse, is a very large wrasse mainly found in coral reefs across the Indo-Pacific region.
Napoleon Wrasse
Our wrasse (named Napoleon, of course) occupies his own sectioned-off area within our huge Great Barrier Reef exhibit, where he can often be seen wedged vertically between the sides of the crag at the back of his exhibit, or drifting gracefully close to the glass, inspecting visitors with his beady eyes.
Napoleon Wrasse are protogynous hermaphrodites, meaning that they can change sex, but only from female to male. The reasons for this change are not fully understood, but it has been noted to occur when males are in short supply, and so a female - often around the age of 8 to 10 years old - will turn into a male to fill the void. We've got first-hand experience of this remarkable transformation, as our very own Napoleon did just this fairly recently. Over a relatively short period of time, Napoleon (previous name Natalie), turned from a light turquoise colour to a much deeper and more vibrant blue with silvery green sheen, and developed the large humped forehead - all characteristics of a male of the species.
You can find Napoleon in the last exhibit before you reach the majestic Reef Theatre - the grand finale of your journey through Sydney Aquarium. If you can't see him, try pressing your face to the glass and looking up and left into the light shining down from above. Napoleon sometimes likes to hang around at the surface, but will nearly always put in a show if you wait for more than a minute or 2.
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