Corkwing Wrasse Identification Guide

Key identification features

• Small, laterally compressed wrasse, usually under 20 cm
• Distinct dark spot ringed with pale color on the upper base of the tail fin, present in both sexes
• Base color olive-green to brown, often with a coppery or reddish sheen
• Breeding males show bright blue or turquoise streaks radiating from the eye and along the cheek
• Females are duller, more uniformly brownish, and lack the vivid facial lines
• Pointed snout and a single continuous dorsal fin running most of the back

Common look-alikes

• Goldsinny wrasse: also has a dark tail-base spot, but adds a second dark blotch at the front of the dorsal fin, which Corkwing Wrasse lacks
• Rock cook: similarly sized, but shows a dark bar at the base of the tail rather than a round spot, and has a more pointed, narrow tail
• Ballan Wrasse: much larger and heavier bodied, with no tail-base eye-spot at any life stage

Where you'll see one

Corkwing Wrasse favor shallow, sheltered rocky shores, seagrass beds, and eelgrass or kelp-fringed harbors along the eastern Atlantic from Norway to Morocco and into parts of the Mediterranean, rarely venturing far below about 20 m. Breeding males build and guard seaweed nests in these shallow habitats during spring and summer.