The bird or birdnose wrasse, Gomphosus varius, is a weird looking fish with a long snout that it uses to probe down into the coral branches to seek out crustaceans. They particularly like the cauliflower corals for this. They move around quickly, and can become a bit agressive and eat other small fish.
But the best part about the birdnose wrasse, though, is how it changes its appearance from a juvenile, through to a female and then finally a male (known as sexual metamorphosis, or sequential hermaphroditism). All birdnose wrasse are born female but will change to males if the conditions are right – for example when they are socially dominant or there isn’t another male around.
Each stage is radically different, from the stripey lime green juvy to the black and white female with her red snout, to the green male. The transition phase can be seen in the sequence of photos, below, where it shows some of the male colouring appearing while still having some of the female. This transition stage can last up to about three weeks.
Like all wrasse, it has well-developed and colourful pectoral fins, like wings, which it uses for swimming (rather than like other fish that use their tails). I’ve included an image of these beautiful pecs and one showing how it uses that distinctive snout, below.
A male birdnose wrasse using its beak to reach between the branches of coral for food
Showing off his pectoral fins