---
title: "Brauner Junker"
description: "Labrus merula — Fische. The brown wrasse (Labrus merula) is a species of wrasse native to the Eastern Atlantic from Portugal to Morocco, including the Azores, as well as in the Mediterranean Sea."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/de/animal/brown-wrasse
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Brauner Junker

> Labrus merula — Fische. The brown wrasse (Labrus merula) is a species of wrasse native to the Eastern Atlantic from Portugal to Morocco, including the Azores, as well as in the Mediterranean Sea.

- Scientific name: *Labrus merula*
- Category: `fish` (Fische)
- Habitats: `sea` (Meer & Küste)
- iNaturalist observations: 1908
- Wikidata: [Q2608569](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2608569)
- iNaturalist taxon: [103912](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/103912)

## Names

- en: Brown Wrasse
- de: Brauner Junker
- es: Merlo
- fr: Labre merle
- nl: Bruine lipvis
- pl: Wargacz merula

## Countries with the most observations

FR (731), ES (629), IT (113), HR (40), GR (30), DZ (7), MT (4), TR (4), SI (3)

## Summary

The brown wrasse (Labrus merula) is a species of wrasse native to the Eastern Atlantic from Portugal to Morocco, including the Azores, as well as in the Mediterranean Sea.  This species can reach 45 cm (18 in) in standard length, though most do not exceed more than 40 cm (16 in).

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

## Photo

![Brauner Junker](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/brown-wrasse/medium.jpg)

Photo: Andra Waagmeester · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/178196822

## Machine access

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