Mediterranean rainbow wrasse
Mediterranean rainbow wrasse is besides the peacock wrasse one of the most frequent wrasse fish in the Adriatic. It is a small fish with
nicely shaped body (elongated and spindly) flattened on the side, and symmetrical as a whole. In small, conical head there is a tiny
mouth, and in them thin and sharp teeth. Its body is remarkably supple.
For a long time scientists believed that there are two variations of one species of rainbow wrasse (Coris Julis and Coris giofredi), and still
in some parts of the Adriatic people are convinced that there are two types of this fish, brown-white kind and or blue-green-white kind that
has black spots on the middle. In both cases it is the same species but different genders, and size doesn't play a role. Although rainbow
wrasse is changing sex as getting older (at first is female and later male when it reaches size of about 18 cm in length), the magnitude of
change varies so it is known to exist larger female and smaller male. The male has olive-green back and an orange zig-zag stripe on the
side beneath which on the front part of the body it has a black stripe. Its belly is white, and on the gill cover there is a blue stain. On the
beginning of a dorsal fin it has a black stain. The female is olive-green on the back and along her body is a brown zig-zag line below
which there is a white belly. On the gill cover there is a blue stain.
Rainbow wrasse swims up to 60 feet deep, but was caught even at greater depths, up to 120 m, especially larger mails. This fish is very
sensitive to pollution and lives only in clean water, so it is considered as an indicator of purity. It is a predator and feeds on small fishes,
crustaceans, sea-worms.
It spawns in late spring and early summer.
Knez
U Hrvatskoj je još poznat kao vladika, knezac, dugnjaca, kinez, kralj, zastava, zlatac, žotra.
Knez je uz lumbraka najbrojnija usnača u Jadranu. Sitna je riba, lijepo oblikovana tijela (izduzeno je i vretenasto), u boku spljošteno, a u
cijelini simetrično. Na maloj stožastoj glavi nalaze se sitna usta, a u njima tanki i oštri zubi. Tijelo im je izvanredno gipko.
Dugo vremena znastvenici su smatrali da postoje dvije varijacije jedne vrste kneza (Coris julis te Coris giofredi), a još uvijek u nekim
predjelima Jadrana ljudi su uvjereni da postoje dvije vrste kneza, smeđe bijela vrsta te zeleno ili plavo bijela vrsta sa crnom mrljom po
sredini. U oba slučaja se radi o istoj vrsti, ali različitim spolovima, a veličina tu i ne igra neku ulogu. Naime, iako knez mijenja spol kroz
život (u početku je ženka a kasnije mijenja spol u mužjaka) i to pri veličini od oko 18 cm dužine, ta veličina promjene varira kod svakog
primjerka, tako da znaju postojati i veća ženka i manji mužjak. Mužjak ima leđa maslinasto-zelene boje a na boku ima narančastu cik-cak
prugu ispod koje na prednjem dijelu tijela ima crnu prugu. Trbuh mu je bijel, a na škržnom poklopcu ima plavu mrlju. Na početku leđne
peraje ima crnu mrlju. Ženka ima maslinasto-zelena leđa, a duž tijela joj se pruža smeđa cik-cak pruga ispod koje se nalazi bijeli trbuh. Na
škržnom poklopcu ima plavu mrlju.
Obično se nalazi do 60 metara dubine, ali je uhvaćen i na većim dubinama, do 120 m, pogotovo veći mužjaci. Knez je vrlo osjetljiv na
zagađenja i živi samo u čistom moru, tako da se smatra indikatorom čistoće. Grabežljivac je i hrani se manjim ribama, račićima,
crvićima,...
Razmnožava se krajem proljeća i početkom ljeta.