TAXONOMY
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Order: Perciformes (Perch-likes)
Family: Labridae (Wrasses)

Genus/species: Oxyjulis californica

Senorita Wrasse 3995255581_88e76a0033_b

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS Length to 10 inches (25 cm). Cigar-shaped fish with large scales and protruding teeth. Orange to brownish, a few are more pink or yellow. Large black marking at base of caudal fin.

DISTRIBUTION/HABITAT: Salt Point, northern California to south-central Baja California. Habitat: Found in kelp and other seaweeds and over rocky reefs, usually at shallow depths. Five to 240 feet (1.5 m-76 m) deep.

DIET IN THE WILD: Hydroids, bryozoans, amphipods, parasitic copepods, and isopods

REMARKS: Popular in the aquarium trade. At night, señoritas seek out a nearby sandy area and bury themselves with a headfirst dive into the sand, ultimately sleeping with head protruding.
Señoritas cleaner fish. picking external parasites and copepods from the skin of other fishes.

Senorita Wrasse 3996018576_6967b7abb5_b-1

Southern California Kelp Exhibit CC14

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