In the oceans there is a huge number of unique inhabitants, most of which are still practically unexplored. One of them is Napoleon fish.
The largest representative of the Maori wrasse genus is the Napoleon fish. On average, an adult weighs up to 200 kg and reaches a length of two meters. Her life expectancy is no more than 50 years. Thanks to the characteristic growth on the head, which in appearance resembles the headdress of the French emperor, the Napoleon Fish got its name, the photo of which confirms this.
Interestingly, quite a few members of the wrasse genus, including the Napoleon fish, are hermaphrodites by nature. Most males are born as females and have the ability to spawn. And already after, by about the age of nine, they change their gender, increase significantly in size, change color and protect their offspring.
The Napoleon fish is very inquisitive and therefore easilycontact with the person. If she often meets him, then her memory is already working, and she eventually gets used to him.
Puberty of wrasse takes up to 5-7 years. Most Maori breed in the traditional way for fish: several hundred individuals gather in groups and form pairs. After mating, the female lays eggs at a shallow depth in the water, which are then carried by the current.
Fish-Napoleon has a distinctive feature from other fish - a night's sleep. And in order not to become the prey of marine predators during sleep, wrasses hide in their shelters - reef caves, under coral ledges or burrow into the sand, and some individuals wrap themselves in a slimy cocoon.
As noted above, the Maori wrasse is quite harmless and even very friendly, but, unfortunately, a person does not always behave the same way. The meat of these huge fish is a delicacy, respectively, dishes from them are an expensive pleasure and a favorite delicacy of gourmets. Gradually, the demand for wrasse only increases.
This amazing fish is listed in the Red Book. But, unfortunately, more and more poachers are engaged in illegal catching. If this continues, then the population of Napoleon fish will be in danger, because they mainly catch large representatives that have undergone a sex change and become males, and females cannot breed alone.
Napoleon fish has practically no enemies, except for some large species of sharks. Despite their good nature, they are real predators,whose main prey are crabs, starfish, molluscs, which they hunt only during the day, because they sleep at night. The hard shells of the prey are not a problem for the wrasse's sharp, nail-like teeth, and powerful jaws help to bite through the corals.
Napoleon fish is one of the few inhabitants of coral reefs that eat corals and hunt sea hares, clams, sea urchins, crowns of thorns. Unfortunately, their number is rapidly decreasing, over the past thirty years it has almost halved.
