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Related FAQs: Leopard Wrasses, Wrasses, Wrasse Selection, Wrasse Behavior, Wrasse Compatibility, Wrasse Feeding, Wrasse Diseases, Related Articles: The Diversity of Wrasses, Family Labridae, Cook Islands Wrasses, /The Conscientious Marine Aquarist Leopard Wrasses, the Genus Macropharyngodon | 
| By Bob Fenner |
Macropharyngodon geoffroy |
The Leopard Wrasses is the common appellation tied to these fishes for their "spotted" and mottled appearance, as well as their large pharyngeal teeth. All ten species are small (four to six inches) reef dwellers that can only be kept for any period of time in full-blown reef systems. Even then, the best any of the group can rate is a (2). Most are lost to simple starvation, stress and the rigors of collection, holding in small volumes, and transport. | Macropharyngodon bipartitus (two subspecies, M. b. bipartitus Smith 1957 and M. b. marisrubri Randall 1978, the first found in the western Indian Ocean, but not the Red Sea, the latter found in the Red Sea's upper Gulf of Aqaba. No discernible differences in appearance or survivability to aquarists(3's)) To about four inches in length. Shown at right: a pair in the Maldives and a female in the Red Sea. Below, a terminal/male specimen in captivity. | 
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Macropharyngodon choati Randall 1978, Choat’s Wrasse (2) is rare and expensive, coming only from east Australia. To three inches in length. Australian photo of juvenile and aquarium one of an adult male. | 
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Macropharyngodon geoffroy (Quoy & Gaimard 1824), Potter’s Leopard Wrasse (3). Found in Hawai'i to Micronesia and the East Indies. A Batesian mimic, look-alike for Potter’s Dwarf Angelfish, Centropyge potteri. A very delicate species. Kona and aquarium photos. | 
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Macropharyngodon meleagris (Valenciennes 1839), the most common species offered in this genus to the aquarium trade, is either THE Leopard or Guinea Fowl Leopard Wrasse (3). Indo-Pacific; Cocos Keeling to the Western Pacific. To six inches in length. Below: Aquarium and Australian photos of initial phase individuals, and a spectacular terminal (male) phase one in Eric Russell's aquarium. |
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