Any of some 300 species (family Labridae) of slender, often brilliantly coloured, fishes, found worldwide in tropical and temperate seas, often on coral reefs.
Species range from 2 in. (5 cm) to 7 ft (2 m) long. Wrasses have thick lips, large scales, long fins, and large, often protruding, canine teeth. Most eat invertebrates; some species, called cleaner wrasses, pick off and eat the external parasites of larger fishes. The tautaug ( Tautoga onitis ) is an edible species.