Sling-jaw wrasse

(Epibulus insidiator) Named after its ability to protrude its mouth forward in order to catch its prey of small fish, crabs and shrimps hiding in rubble and coral. The juvenile is small and brown while the female is yellow. The male has the white face and diamond pattern and is multi-coloured.

The sling-jaw wrasse’s lower jaw bone isn’t fixed to it’s head

The lower jaw can shoot out to over half the length of it’s body when hunting

But although you wouldn’t notice …

…there is a lot of loose skin to be seen

They are found in tropical waters in many parts of the world

These photos were taken in the Red Sea, Egypt

This is a young female

This is an adult female - the eye stripe is more pronounced

The colours of the male intensify when it is trying to attract a mate

You may also like