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Eastern King Wrasse

Coris sandeyeri

  • Fish
  • IUCN: Least concern
  • Usual depth6–26 m
  • Water temperature16–26 °C
  • Best monthsFebruary, November, and December
  • How commonOccasional
All species

Photo credit: (c) naturewatchwidow, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Sandager's wrasse is a species of wrasse native to the southwestern Pacific Ocean ranging from Australia to New Zealand and the Kermadec Islands. This species can be found on reefs down to depths of about 60 metres (200 ft). It can reach a length of 25 centimetres (9.8 in) TL. It can also be found in the aquarium trade.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Sandager's wrasse”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

  • January: 86 records
  • February: 115 records
  • March: 89 records
  • April: 85 records
  • May: 60 records
  • June: 30 records
  • July: 14 records
  • August: 16 records
  • September: 40 records
  • October: 75 records
  • November: 128 records
  • December: 101 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 6–26 m · Deepest record: 33 m

  • 0–10 m: 138 records
  • 10–20 m: 138 records
  • 20–30 m: 54 records
  • 30–40 m: 17 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 16–26 °C

  • 14–16 °C: 1 records
  • 16–18 °C: 256 records
  • 18–20 °C: 25 records
  • 20–22 °C: 110 records
  • 22–24 °C: 0 records
  • 24–26 °C: 0 records
  • 26–28 °C: 1 records

Names and classification

English
Eastern King Wrasse, King Wrasse, Sandager's Wrasse
Names in 1 more languages
Spanish
Coris Real del Este

Other scientific names: Coris rex, Coris sandageri, Coris trimaculata, Coris trimaculatus, Cymolutes sandeyeri

Similar species

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).
  • 431 open-data records from 1959 to 2013.
  • Species data updated November 1, 2026.

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