Fish of the Labrus genus of the Labridae (wrasses) family of the Labroidei suborder of the Perciformes order of the Acanthopterygii superorder.
(Cuckoo wrasse male. Photo by © Sue Daly. marlin.ac.uk)
Cuckoo wrasse (Labrus mixtus) was first described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778).
It inhabits the depth of 2-200 meters, usually 40-80 meters. It prefers to swim close to a rocky bottom and in algae thickets. Males are brighter than females. The maximum recorded length is 40 cm, specimens up to 30 cm long are more common. It feeds on crustaceans, fish and mollusks.
(Cuckoo wrasse female. Photo by © Robert A. Patzner. fishbase.org)
It is a permanent inhabitant of the Adriatic Sea.
Names of cuckoo wrasse (Labrus mixtus) in other languages as follows:
Peshk pallua (Albanian), Koekoekslipvis (Dutch), Gallano (Spanish), Tordo fischietto (Italian), Kuckuckslippfisch (German), Wargacz tęczak (Polish), Bodião-canário (Portuguese), Пятнистый губан (Pjatnistyj guban) (Russian), Smokva (Serbian, Croatian, Slovenian), Vieille coquette (French).