Fish of the Symphodus genus of the Labridae (wrasses) family of the Labroidei suborder of the Perciformes order of the Acanthopterygii superorder.
(Axillary wrasse. Photo by © Robert A. Patzner. fishbase.org)
Axillary wrasse (Symphodus mediterraneus) 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 the bottom in sea grass thickets. The maximum recorded length is 18 cm; specimens up to 12 cm long are more common. It feeds on mollusks, worms, sea urchins and bryozoans.
(Axillary wrasse. Photo by © José Francisco Martín Piñatel. fotonatura.org)
It is a permanent inhabitant of the Adriatic Sea.
Names of axillary wrasse (Symphodus mediterraneus) in other languages as follows:
Buzoçi mesdhetar (Albanian), Witlippige lipvis (Dutch), Κοκκινολαπίνα (Kokkinoljapina) (Greek), Sifton yam-tikhoni (Hebrew), Tordo rosso (Italian), Mittelmeer-Lippfisch (German), Wargacz śródziemnomorski (Polish), Bodião-do-Mediterrâneo (Portuguese), Средиземноморский губан (Sredizemnomorskij guban) (Russian), Podujka (Serbian, Croatian), Çırçır balığı (Turkish), Crénilabre rouquié (French).