Env. Biol. Fish. Vol. 3, No. 2, pp.
235-238, 1978
Food habits of the giant humphead wrasse,
Cheilinus undulatus ( L a b r i d a e ) *
J o h n E. R a n d a l l ~ , S t e p h e n M. H e a d 2
& A d r i a n P.L. S a n d e r s 3
Bernice P. Bishop Museum, P.O. Box 6037,
Honolulu, Hawaii 96818, USA
2Department of Zoology, South Parks Road,
Oxford, England
3Fisheries Department, Port Sudan, Dem.
Rep. of Sudan
Keywords.
Coral r e e f fishes, I n d o - P a c i f i c , S t o m a c h c o n -
tents, O c e a n i a , R e d Sea
Synopsis
The giant humphead wrasse (Cheilinusundulatus),an inhabi-
tant of coral reefs, is widely distributed in the tropical Indo-
Pacific region. Stomach and intestinal contents of 72 speci-
mens from the Pacific and the Red Sea revealed that this fish
feeds primarily on mollusks, fishes, echinoids, and crusta-
ceans.
The giant humphead wrasse, Cheilinus undulatus
Riippell (Fig. 1) is widely distributed in the tropical
Indo-Pacific region. In the western Indian Ocean it
occurs from the Red Sea south to Mozambique. In
the western Pacific it ranges from Okinawa to Queen s-
land. It is recorded from many islands of Oceania, but
appears to be absent from the Hawaiian Islands,
Johnston Island, Easter Island, Pitcairn, Rapa and
Lord Howe Island (all insular areas where the first
author and associates have made extensive fish collec-
tions).
This huge labrid fish is second in size among reef-
dwelling teleosts only to a few of the largest groupers
(Epinephelus spp.). The largest C. undulatus of which
we have found record is one reported by Marshall
* This article is one of several presented at the Second Euro-
pean Ichthyological Congress, Paris, 8-15 September 1976,
to be published by Environmental Biology of Fishes.
Received 2.3.1977 Accepted 20.10.1977
(1964) from Queensland; it measured 2 . 2 9 m in
length and weighed 190.5 kg.
Although highly prized as a food fish over much
of its range, it has been reported as causing ciguatera
(fish poisoning) at various islands in Oceania (Randall
1958, Halstead 1967).
Cheilinus undulatus is an inhabitant of coral reefs.
It is most often encountered on outer reef slopes and
in channels at depths of only a few meters to at least
60 m, but it is also to be seen in lagoon environments.
Young individuals are more apt to be found around
coral heads in shallow lagoons and bays than are
adults.
Paradoxically, for a fish of its great size, C'. undu-
latus is among the most wary of Indo-Pacific reef
fishes. Furthermore, the larger the individual, gener-
ally, the more difficult it is for a diver to approach it.
According to Bagnis et al. (1972), adults have a home
cave to which they retreat when threatened and to
which they retire at night.
The present study, which commenced in 1966, is
based upon the examination of 72 specimens, of
which 30 were taken (mostly by spearing) at the fol-
lowing islands in the Pacific: Society Islands, Tuamo-
tu Archipelago, Line Islands, Marshall Islands, Caro-
line Islands, Palau Islands, and the Solomon Islands.
The fish from Oceania ranged from 0.38 to 1.11 m in
standard length (~ = 0.63 m).
The remaining 42 fish were from the Sudanese
Red Sea. Forty of these were obtained in the Port
Sudan market. Twenty-two market specimens were
obtained in 1972; these were not measured. Eighteen
procured in 1973 weighed from 2 to 25 kg (~---
8.5 kg). The other two Red Sea specimens
0.65-0.80 m SL, were collected by spearing in 1975.
The usual fishing gear in the Sudan consists of
nylon handlines with single hooks. These are most
frequently baited with Sardinella melanura. This sar-
dine was well represented in the stomachs of the fish
that were examined. It was, of course, not included in
the analyses of the gut material. Also present in the
digestive tracts but discounted were sand, coral rub-
ble, algae, sponge spicules, and foraminifera. These
were no doubt ingested incidentally with the food or
originated from the guts of prey organisms.
Intestinal contents were examined as well as stom-
ach material. Few digestive tracts could be described
as full. Generally, the food material was concentrated
235
F/g. 1. Humphead wrasse, Cheilinus undulatus, 0.9l m standard length, 1.17 m total length, weight 25.8 kg, Enewetak, Marshall
Islands.

in separate boluses, often three or four in number, Table 1. Percentage of animals by volume found in digestive
each usually representing the ingestion o f one prey tracts of 32 specimens of Cheilinus undula,ds.
animal such as a mollusk, echinoid, or fish. In the case
o f the invertebrates, a surprisingly large quantity of Gastropods 22.0
Fishes 21.9
the exoskeletal material was present, though well tri-
Echinoids 19.0
turated b y the powerful pharyngeal dentition o f the
Pelecypods 15.9
fish. Crabs 9.3
The analyses o f the gut contents o f the Pacific Spiny lobsters 3.4
material and the two Red Sea specimens obtained in Asteroids 3.4
1975 were based on the volume o f the various food Ophiuroids 2.2
organisms, whereas the data from the other 40 Red Hermit crabs 1.3
Sea fish were taken as the percentage o f occurrence Unidentified 1.3
o f the food item, regardless of volume. The data are, Stomatopods 0.3
therefore, presented separately in Tables 1 and 2. The
high percentage o f crustaceans in Table 2 would be Table 2. Percentage of occurrence of animals found in diges-
notably smaller if a volumetric analysis had been tive tracts of 40 Red Sea specimens of Cheilinus undulatus
made because most of the crabs and shrimps that
were ingested were relatively small. Crustaceans 78.0
Table 3 presents the identifications o f some o f the Gastropods 55.5
food animals. A number in parentheses after a name Pelecypods 49.0
Echinoids (regular) 34.0
indicates the number o f times the animal was found
Fish 20.0
in the guts. Echinoids (irregular) 14.3
Although the authors found no asteroid remains in Ophiuroids 7.5
any o f the specimens o f C u n d u l a t u s they examined,

236
 Table 3. Identifications of food animals from digestive Another unique mode of feeding has been hypothe-
tracts of Cheilinus undulatus. sized by Richard H. Randall (personal communica-
tion). In the Mariana Islands and Taiwan he has found
Gastropods Pelecypods freshly broken coral (Pocillopora eydouxi) where
Aplysia sp Area spp (6) large C. undulatus had been and believes the fish bites
Columbella turturina Cardium spp (3)
the coral in order to expose crabs (Trapezia).
Conus sp Codakia sp
Cymatium sp (6) Codakia punctata
Fricke (1971, 1973) has described the manner in
Cypraea sp (4) erycinid which Cheilinus trilobatus and other Red Sea wrasses
Cypraea helvola Gloripallium sp (2) crush sea urchins by transporting them in their
Cypraea isabella (2) lsognomon perna mouths to a suitable rock, and breaking them by
Engina sp (2) Lioconcha sp (2) striking with a sideways movement of the head. Pos-
fasciolarid Malleus sp sibly C undulatus employs this method, though
Murex sp Spondylus spp (3) larger individuals are probably able to bite directly
muricid tellinid into even the largest echinoids.
Nassarius sp Tellina sp Nearly half of the echinoids from the gut con-
Neritopsis radula Echinoderms
tents, and most of the pelecypods live in sand be-
Pisania sp Diadema setosum
Trochus histrio diadematids (6) neath the substrate surface. We do not know if C. un-
Turbo sp Echinornetra sp dulatus obtains its fossorial prey by nosing into the
Turbo argyrostomus Prioncidaris baculosa sand, making an excavation by ejecting a stream of
Turbo in t erstitialis clypeastroids (6) water, or relying in part oll the excavations of other
Umbonium sp spatangoids (6) fishes, such as mullids and stingrays. Wrasses are
Fishes Acanthaster planci among the most opportunistic of the reef fishes in
Cirrhilabrus sp Crustaceans their exploitation o f the activities of other fishes that
Gymnothorax p Panulirus sp (2) feed by rooting into the substratum. Possibly C. un-
ostraciontid dulatus utilizes more than one of these methods to
Valenciennea strigata
catch sand-dwelling prey. One of the fish species iden-
tified from humphead wrasse stomachs, the goby
Valenciennea strigata, lives in a burrow of its own
Walter A. Starck, II (personal communication) re- making in the sand.
moved a crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) Two of the animals from the gut contents, the sea
from the stomach of a humphead wrasse of about hare Aplysia and an ostraciontid fish, produce toxins
45 kg which he collected at Enewetak, Marshall which are believed to repel at least some predators.
Islands in 1971. Evidently they did not deter C undulatus.
Because C. undulatus is such a shy fish, we have
not been able to make any direct observations of its
feeding. From a knowledge of its food and of the Acknowledgments
habits of certain other labrid fishes, however, we can
speculate on some of the methods by which it cap- We are grateful to Dr. Walter A. Starck, II for allow-
tures its prey. ing us to report on the stomach contents of 6 speci-
Cowries and many of the other gastropods hide by mens of C undulatus which he collected in the Mar-
day in crevices or beneath rocks, so it is evident that shall Islands, Palau, Coral Sea, and Solomon Islands.
C undulatus must employ special methods to capture We are also indebted to Dr. E. Alison Kay for pro-
these mollusks. First, it should be mentioned that this viding identifications of many of the mollusks ob-
fish has a very compressed and supple body, and can tained as shell fragments from the fish digestive
freely slip into narrow cracks in the reef or beneath tracts.
low coral ledges. We also believe that it overturns
rocks to expose the invertebrates beneath. This be-
havior has been observed by the first author for the References cited
labrids Coris aygula, Coris gaimardi, and Xyrichtys
taeniourus. The more massive Cheilinus undulatus Bagnis, R., P. Mazellier, J. Bennett & E. Christian. 1972.
should be able to overturn rocks even more read- Fishes of Polynesia. Les 6ditions du Pacifique, Papeete, Ta-
ily than these smaller wrasses. hiti. 368 pp.

237
Fricke, H. W. 1971. Fische als Feinde tropischer SeeigeL Mar.
Biol. 9: 328-338.
Fricke, H. W. 1973. Cheilinus trilobatus (Labridae) Erbeuten
yon Seeigeln (Freiwasseraufnahmen). Encyclopaedia Cine-
matographica. 8 pp.
Halstead, B. A. 1967. Poisonous and venomous marine ani-
mals of the world. Vol. 2, Vertebrates. U.S. Govt. Printing
Office, Washington, D.C. XXXI + 1070 pp.
Marshall, T. C. 1964. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef. Angus
and Robertson, Sydney. 566 pp.
Randall, J. E. 1958. A review of ciguatera, tropical fish poi-
soning, with a tentative explanation of its cause. Bull. Mar.
Sci. Gulf and Carib. 8: 236- 267.

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