---
title: "Mediterranean Rainbow Wrasse"
description: "Coris julis — Fish. Coris julis also known by its common name, the Mediterranean rainbow wrasse, is a Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic fish."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/mediterranean-rainbow-wrasse
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Mediterranean Rainbow Wrasse

> Coris julis — Fish. Coris julis also known by its common name, the Mediterranean rainbow wrasse, is a Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic fish.

- Scientific name: *Coris julis*
- Category: `fish` (Fish)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 7878
- Wikidata: [Q919271](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q919271)
- iNaturalist taxon: [50968](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/50968)

## Names

- en: Mediterranean Rainbow Wrasse
- de: Meerjunker
- es: Doncella
- fr: Girelle commune
- nl: Regenbooglipvis
- pt: Bodião-arco-íris-do-Mediterrâneo
- pl: Korys doncela

## Countries with the most observations

ES (2111), GR (1577), FR (1543), HR (931), IT (870), TR (130), ME (128), MT (72), AL (27), CY (18), DZ (10), MC (8)

## Summary

Coris julis also known by its common name, the Mediterranean rainbow wrasse, is a Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic fish. Phylogenetically they belong to the Labridae family, also known as the wrasses. Within their genus, Coris, there are a total of 28 species. As discussed more in the Life History section below, they can present with more than one coloration. This is because they are diandric protogynous hermaphrodites. These fish are born as what scientists term primary males and females and can transition from a female to a secondary male. Primary individuals are described to be less than 18cm in length and all…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_rainbow_wrasse

## Photo

![Mediterranean Rainbow Wrasse](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/mediterranean-rainbow-wrasse/medium.jpg)

Photo: Andra Waagmeester · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/55906987

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/mediterranean-rainbow-wrasse?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).