Orange-Striped Fairy Wrasse

Cirrhilabrus earlei

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth2–102 m
Water temperature8–29 °C
Best monthsMay
How commonRare

About this species

Cirrhilabrus earlei is a species of fairy wrasse. They occur in the Western Central Pacific, Palau and Micronesia. In 2001 John Randall and Richard Pyle officially documented and described the species. Cirrhilabrus earlei is the known to the twilight reefs of Palau and the Majuro Atoll in the Marshall Islands. They live under depth range of 60–92 m, and its length is 6.9 cm SL. Male Cirrhilabrus earlei are adorned with sword-shaped tails, the tiny female species are same as male stimulates the male into the nuptial.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Cirrhilabrus earlei”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 0 records
February: 0 records
March: 0 records
April: 1 records
May: 7 records
June: 0 records
July: 0 records
August: 3 records
September: 0 records
October: 0 records
November: 0 records
December: 0 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 2–102 m · Deepest record: 101.5 m

0–10 m: 1 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 3 records
90–100 m: 4 records
100–110 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 8–29 °C

6–8 °C: 1 records
8–10 °C: 0 records
10–12 °C: 0 records
12–14 °C: 0 records
14–16 °C: 0 records
16–18 °C: 0 records
18–20 °C: 0 records
20–22 °C: 0 records
22–24 °C: 0 records
24–26 °C: 0 records
26–28 °C: 0 records
28–30 °C: 7 records

Names and classification

English: Orange-Striped Fairy Wrasse, Orange-striped Wrasse

Similar species

Blue-scaled Fairy Wrasse
Cirrhilabrus cyanopleura
Exquisite wrasse
Cirrhilabrus exquisitus
Black-finned Wrasse
Cirrhilabrus punctatus
Scott's Fairy-wrasse
Cirrhilabrus scottorum
Peacock Wrasse
Cirrhilabrus temminckii
Blackstriped Wrasse
Cirrhilabrus katherinae

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
9 open-data records from 1997 to 2020.
Species data updated November 1, 2026.

Log what you see on your next dive

The free DiveHive diver app keeps your logbook with every sighting and shows what lives at the site you dive next.

Join the waitlist