Green Wrasse

(Crenilabms tinea), a fish of the family Labridae, order Percomorphi. Length, 10–15 cm, sometimes as much as 30 cm; weight, up to 290 g. It is brightly colored, basically green or greenish with longitudinal rows of blue and red spots.

The green wrasse is found in seas that wash the southern and western coast of Europe (as far north as Norway). In the USSR it is found in the Black Sea, possibly in the Kerch’ Strait, and in the southeastern part of the Sea of Azov. It inhabits primarily the coastal zone, among rocks and stones covered with algae. It spawns in May and June (in batches). The eggs are deposited on submarine rocks and vegetation. Egg yield is 12,000 to 58,000. The green wrasse feeds on bottom invertebrates, especially bivalves (whose shells it crushes with its pharyngeal teeth) and small crustaceans. The green wrasse is a sport fish.