Puddingwife Wrasse in Cozumel

The largest Halichoeres wrasse in the Caribbean, and one that changes so much with age that juveniles and adults look like different species. Adults are blue-green with a yellow bar and cruise the reef at speed.

Quick ID

How To Identify It

Adults are blue-green with orange-yellow markings on the head and a pale vertical bar behind the pectoral fin. Juveniles are yellow-orange with blue stripes and white blotches on the back.

Where You Will See It In Cozumel

Puddingwife Wrasse works the 6 to 110 foot band. On this island that means the sheltered west-coast reefs, and the shallow east-side entries when the sea is flat — these are the sites where the depth and the habitat line up for it.

Without a boat. It is worth looking for at El Islote, El Mirador and El Presidente — all shore entries, so you dive them on your own schedule.

On an ordinary beginner boat dive. It should be within reach at San Clemente, Yellow House, Yucab, Casa Blanca and Chankanaab Bolones. No advanced certification needed.

Deeper, and on the walls. It is also plausible on Maracaibo, Palancar Bricks, Palancar Caves and Palancar Horseshoe.

Conditions change the odds more than the site does — the current, the time of day and how much the group has already stirred up the sand. Ask your guide what they have been seeing that week.

Behaviour

Feeds on hard-shelled prey — molluscs, urchins, crabs — which it crushes with strong pharyngeal teeth. Adults cover ground quickly and rarely stop, which is why they are more often glimpsed than watched.

Commonly Confused With

• Clown wrasse — Far smaller, with a dark mid-body blotch.
• Bluehead wrasse (terminal male) — Blue head with two black bars, smaller and slimmer.
• Rainbow parrotfish — Has a beak; the puddingwife has separate teeth and a pointed snout.

Diving Etiquette And Safety

Keep fins off the reef and hands to yourself. Nothing here needs to be touched, moved or provoked to be seen well.

Part of the Cozumel marine life guide · see Cozumel dive sites · plan your Cozumel dive trip

Photo courtesy of the Cozumel Coral Reef Restoration Program, used with permission.