Creole wrasse (Clepticus parrae) at a cleaning station. This fish inhabits the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, from Florida, USA, to northern South A

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Creole wrasse (Clepticus parrae) at a cleaning station. This fish inhabits the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, from Florida, USA, to northern South America. It feeds on zooplankton and small invertebrates and can reach 30 centimetres in length. A cleaning station is a place on the reef where specialised cleaner fish reside. Larger fish visit these sites, and allow the smaller fish to pick parasites from their bodies, often even including the insides of their mouths. The cleaners are never swallowed, even if smaller fish are the primary diet of the fish being cleaned. This is a form of symbiosis. Photographed off Bonaire Island in the Netherlands Antilles, in the Caribbean Sea.

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Size: 5130px × 3434px
Photo credit: © GEORGETTE DOUWMA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: animal, antilles, biological, biology, bonaire, caribbean, cleaner, cleaning, clepticus, creole, fauna, fish, marine, mutualism, nature, netherlands, parrae, sea, station, symbiosis, symbiotic, tropical, underwater, wildlife, wrasse, zoological, zoology