Fish of the Labrus genus of the Labridae (wrasses) family of the Labroidei suborder of the Perciformes order of the Acanthopterygii superorder.
(Brown wrasse. Photo by © Protesilao. naturamediterraneo.com)
Brown wrasse (Labrus merula) was first described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778).
It inhabits the depth of 1-50 meters. It prefers to swim close to a rocky bottom among algae. The maximum recorded length is 45 cm; specimens up to 40 cm long are more common. Medium-sized specimens may form small schools. It feeds on sea urchins, mollusks, crabs and worms.
(Brown wrasse. Photo by © Rick Stuart-Smith. reeflifesurvey.com)
It is a permanent rare inhabitant of the Adriatic Sea.
Names of brown wrasse (Labrus merula) in other languages as follows:
Buzoçi i zi (Albanian), Bruine lipvis (Dutch), Μαυροχειλού (Mavrohilju) (Greek), Merlo (Spanish), Tordo nero (Italian), Brauner Lippfisch (German), Wargacz merula (Polish), Bodião-fusco (Portuguese), Коричневый губан (Korichnevyj guban) (Russian), Vrana (Serbian, Croatian, Slovenian), Çil balığı (Turkish), Merle (French).