Yellowtail coris
Amazing fact
The yellowtail coris swims with up-and-down movements of its pectoral fins, as if flying.
Waikīkī Aquarium
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
The yellowtail coris swims with up-and-down movements of its pectoral fins, as if flying.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Yellowtail coris
- Scientific name
- Coris gaimard
- Japanese name
- ツユベラ
- Group
- Ocean animals
- Order
- Labriformes
- Family
- Labridae
- Genus
- Coris
Where the name “Yellowtail coris” comes from
“Yellowtail” in its English name refers to its bright yellow tail fin.
Waikīkī AquariumA fish that lives from the islands and coasts of southern Japan across the eastern Indian Ocean and the Pacific.
As adults, both males and females have blue dots scattered over the rear part of the body.
How the Yellowtail coris lives
It lives in sandy and rubble-strewn areas of coral reefs. With canine teeth that stick out slightly, it plucks small crustaceans and molluscs from the reef. It matures as a female and may later change sex to male.
Museums Victoria and OzFishNetWaikīkī AquariumBasic data
- Range
- Izu and Ogasawara Islands, Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, eastern Indo-Pacific excluding the Marquesas and Easter Island, and elsewhere
Where the Yellowtail coris has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- ツユベラ
- 简体中文
- 盖马氏盔鱼
- 繁體中文
- 蓋馬氏盔魚
- Español
- Coris de Gaimard
- Français
- Coris à queue jaune
- Deutsch
- Clown-Junker
- Português (Brasil)
- Bodião-de-Gaimard
- Italiano
- Labro pagliaccio di Gaimard
- العربية
- قورس أصفر الذيل
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Keling totol asli
- Tiếng Việt
- Cá Mó gai - ma
- Русский
- Тихоокеанский корис
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 鳥羽水族館 — ツユベラChecked: 2026-11-04
- Museums Victoria and OzFishNet — Clown Wrasse, Coris gaimardChecked: 2026-11-07
- Waikīkī Aquarium — Yellowtail Coris WrasseChecked: 2026-11-07
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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