African Clown Wrasse
Coris gaimard
- Usual depth5–23 m
- Water temperature23–29 °C
- Best monthsApril, June, and August
- How commonCommon
Photo credit: (c) Pauline Walsh Jacobson, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Coris gaimard, the yellowtail wrasse or African coris, among other vernacular names, is a species of wrasse native to the tropical waters of the central Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean, from Christmas Islands and Cocos Keeling Islands to the Society Islands, Hawaii, and from Japan to Australia. It is an inhabitant of coral reefs, being found in areas that offer a mix of sand patches, rubble, and coral at depths from 1 to 50 m. This species can also be found in the aquarium trade and is popular species for display in public aquaria.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Coris gaimard”, 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: 303 records
- February: 415 records
- March: 546 records
- April: 924 records
- May: 660 records
- June: 746 records
- July: 634 records
- August: 720 records
- September: 605 records
- October: 571 records
- November: 358 records
- December: 227 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 5–23 m · Deepest record: 30 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 23–29 °C
Photos
(c) Don Loarie, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Cricket Raspet, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Roger Rittmaster, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Roger Rittmaster, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Nicola Crockford, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- African Clown Wrasse, African coris, African coris, Yellowtail coris, Clown wrasse, Gaimard's Wrasse, Rainbow wrasse, Yellowtail Coris
Names in 3 more languages
- French
- Coris à queue jaune
- Japanese
- Tsuyubera, ツユベラ
- Simplified Chinese
- 柳冷仔, 紅龍, 蓋馬氏盔魚, 蓋馬氏鸚鯛, 露珠盔魚, 露珠盔鱼
Other scientific names: Coris gaimardi, Coris greenoughii, Coris greenovii, Coris pulcherrima, Julis gaimard, Julis ganymede, Julis greenovii, Julis leucorhynchos
Similar species
Clown wrasseCoris aygula
Batu CorisCoris batuensis
Pale-barred CorisCoris dorsomacula
Dapple CorisCoris variegata
Tripletail wrasseCheilinus trilobatus
Blunt-head ParrotfishChlorurus microrhinos
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).
- 5,323 open-data records from 1889 to 2023.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
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