Biodiversity & Conservation

Rock cook - Centrolabrus exoletus - General information

Centrolabrus exoletus

Image Keith Hiscock - Side view of Centrolabrus exoletus. Image width ca 10 cm.
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Distribution map

Centrolabrus exoletus recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

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Centrolabrus exoletus is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Kate Reeds Text page icon Refereed by:

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Chordata Sea squirts, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals
Class Actinopterygii Ray-finned fish, e.g. sturgeon, eels, fin fish, gobies, blennies, and seahorses
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland Distributed throughout the Britain and Ireland, although is absent from the southern North Sea.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Often found among seaweeds (particularly eelgrass beds) and near rocks.
Text page icon Description This brightly coloured wrasse, is distinguished by five spiny fin rays on the anal fin. Colouring is mostly greenish brown, sometimes with blue or purple flecking on the dorsal and anal fins. Its sides are yellow to brown, with a cream underside. The lower part of the head is yellowish orange, with blue and pinkish stripes. A broad dark band is also present on the caudal fin. Also known as the 'small mouthed wrasse' Centrolabrus exoletus feeds on small invertebrates and also cleans parasites from other fish.

This review can be cited as follows:

Kate Reeds 2008. Centrolabrus exoletus. Rock cook. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 31/07/2010]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=2907>