AnimalvsAnimal
Cheilinus undulatus R Vasconcellos 582969181🐟

Photo: R Vasconcellos · CC BY 4.0

SpeciesPerciformesLabridae
Fish

🐟Humphead wrasse

Cheilinus undulatus Rüppell, 1835

De Napoleonvis (Cheilinus undulatus) is een vis die onder andere voor komt in de Rode zee en de Arabische Zee. Deze lipvis kan 2,30 meter lang worden. Ze komen voor langs rifhellingen en soms ook op laguneriffen. Napoleonvissen zijn van nature zeer nieuwsgierig, zij naderen duikers tot op enkele meters. De Napoleonvis is de grootste en zwaarste lipvis (tot 190 kg). Ze zijn herkenbaar aan de enorme grootte en de bult op het voorhoofd. Hij voedt zich vooral met weekdieren. Ze komen voor op een diepte tot 60 meter. In sommige landen wordt hij gevangen voor consumptie. Vooral in Oost-Azië is de vis populair. De soort staat op de Rode Lijst van de IUCN als "Bedreigd". Kleur(en): Blauw, Groen Leefgebied(en): Rode Zee, Indisch en Stille Oceaan, Tuamotu-eilanden, Ryukyu-eilanden, Nieuw-Caledonië, Arabische Zee

Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Photos
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Measurements
7
vs you
≈ 3.1× your weight
Also called
Maori Wrasse, Giant Wrasse, Humphead, Napoleon Wrasse, Truck Wrasse, Undulate Wrasse
Conservation status
ENEndangered

IUCN Red List assessment, 2025.

Population trendDecreasing
Key measurements
Body mass
191 kg
Body length
0.6 m
Shoulder height
not recorded
Top speed
not recorded
Bite force
not recorded
Maximum lifespan
32 years
All measurements ↓
Facts and figures

Everything we know about the Humphead wrasse

Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.

Body mass
191 kgmaximum recorded
FishBase
Details ↓

Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0

Body length
0.6 mrecord 2.29 m · FishBasetypical adult
FishBase
Details ↓

Record: largest individual on record

Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0

Maximum lifespan
32 yearsmaximum recorded
FishBase
Details ↓

Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0

Trophic level
3.99
FishBase
Details ↓

Source: FishBase · v25.04, estimate table · CC BY-NC 4.0

Diet
carnivoreaverage
Details ↓

From trophic level 3.99 (FishBase): <2.2 herbivore, 2.2–2.8 omnivore, >2.8 carnivore.

Danger to humans
reports of ciguatera poisoning
FishBase
Details ↓

Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0

Volume l
191 Laverage
Details ↓

Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.

average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.

Not recorded for Humphead wrasse yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force.

Where it sits

Family tree

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. ›phylumChordata
  3. ›orderPerciformes
  4. ›familyLabridae
  5. ›genusCheilinus
  6. ›speciesCheilinus undulatus
Full lineage
  1. superclassRay-finned fish · Actinopterygii
  2. subclassNeopterygii
  3. orderAcanthomorphata
  4. orderLabriformes
All 10 branches ↓
  1. kingdomMetazoa
  2. phylumChordata
  3. subphylumCraniata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. superclassGnathostomata
  6. superclassRay-finned fish · Actinopterygii
  7. classActinopteri
  8. subclassNeopterygii
  9. orderAcanthomorphata
  10. orderLabriformes
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More about the Humphead wrasse

In other languages
闊嘴郎 (zh), Napoléon (fr), Napoleon-Lippfisch (de), سمكة نابليون (ar), peix napoleó (ca), Cheilinus undulatus (es) … and 24 more languages
More photos
Cheilinus undulatus R Vasconcellos 582969181Brest Océanopolis 2015 017
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