en Cigar wrasse

Cigar wrasse
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Labriformes
Family:	Labridae
Genus:	Cheilio
Species:	C. inermis
Binomial name
	Cheilio inermis; (Forsskål, 1775)
Synonyms
	Labrus inermis Forsskål, 1775; Labrus hassek Lacépède, 1801; Cheilio auratus Lacépède, 1802; Cheilio fuscus Lacépède, 1802; Labrus fusiformis Rüppell, 1835; Cheilio cyanochloris Valenciennes, 1839; Cheilio forskalii Valenciennes, 1839; Cheilio hemichrysos Valenciennes, 1839; Cheilio viridis Valenciennes, 1839; Cheilio microstoma Valenciennes, 1839; Cheilio ramosus Jenyns, 1842; Cheilio bicolor Bianconi, 1857; Cheilio udanad Montrouzier, 1857;

The cigar wrasse, Cheilio inermis, is a species of wrasse native to the Indo-Pacific. It is mainly found on tropical reefs at depths to 30 m (98 ft) in the Indo-Pacific region, Red Sea included.^[3] They inhabit seagrass beds and algae-covered flats, occasionally in lagoon and seaward reefs to a depth of at least 30 m. They are a mostly solitary species. Their diet includes crustaceans, mollusks, sea urchins, and other hard-shelled prey.^[4]

Description

It grows to an average length of 35 cm (14 in) but can reach up to 50 cm (20 in).^[5]

Young individuals are usually a mottled brown or green, sometimes with a broad lateral stripe. Rare individuals may be uniformly yellow. Large males may develop a bright yellow, orange, black, white, or multicolored patch on their sides behind their pectoral fins.^[6]

Due to their adult size and diet, they are rarely kept in the aquarium.