---
title: "Ornate Wrasse"
description: "Thalassoma pavo — Fish. The ornate wrasse (Thalassoma pavo) is a species of wrasse native to the rocky coasts of the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/ornate-wrasse
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Ornate Wrasse

> Thalassoma pavo — Fish. The ornate wrasse (Thalassoma pavo) is a species of wrasse native to the rocky coasts of the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

- Scientific name: *Thalassoma pavo*
- Category: `fish` (Fish)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 10523
- Wikidata: [Q2060811](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2060811)
- iNaturalist taxon: [50972](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/50972)

## Names

- en: Ornate Wrasse
- de: Meerpfau
- es: Pez verde
- fr: Girelle-paon
- nl: Pauwlipvis
- pt: Bodião-ornato
- pl: Talasoma pawia

## Countries with the most observations

ES (3283), GR (2905), IT (1175), FR (1036), PT (439), TR (274), HR (205), CY (171), ME (147), MT (126), CV (122), IL (67)

## Summary

The ornate wrasse (Thalassoma pavo) is a species of wrasse native to the rocky coasts of the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. This species, commonly known as the circus fish, is of minor importance to local commercial fisheries, is also popular as a game fish, and can be found in the aquarium trade.

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

## Photo

![Ornate Wrasse](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/ornate-wrasse/medium.jpg)

Photo: Kenny · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/236869672

## Machine access

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