---
title: "Rockmover Wrasse"
description: "Novaculichthys taeniourus — Peixes. Novaculichthys taeniourus, also known as the rockmover wrasse, carpet wrasse, dragon wrasse, bar-cheeked wrasse, olive-scribbled wrasse or reindeer wrasse, is a species of wrasse mainly found in coral reefs and lagoons in the Indo-Pacific region."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/pt/animal/rockmover-wrasse
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Rockmover Wrasse

> Novaculichthys taeniourus — Peixes. Novaculichthys taeniourus, also known as the rockmover wrasse, carpet wrasse,  dragon wrasse, bar-cheeked wrasse, olive-scribbled wrasse or reindeer wrasse, is a species of wrasse mainly found in coral reefs and lagoons in the Indo-Pacific region.

- Scientific name: *Novaculichthys taeniourus*
- Category: `fish` (Peixes)
- Habitats: `sea` (Mar e costa)
- iNaturalist observations: 2293
- Wikidata: [Q2704903](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2704903)
- iNaturalist taxon: [63597](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/63597)

## Names

- en: Rockmover Wrasse
- de: Bäumchen-Lippfisch
- es: Cuchillo dragón
- fr: Labre-rasoir masqué
- nl: Rendierlipvis

## Countries with the most observations

US (642), ID (267), MV (112), PH (108), FJ (91), PA (82), MX (74), AU (67), PF (61), GU (41), CR (39), EG (38)

## Summary

Novaculichthys taeniourus, also known as the rockmover wrasse, carpet wrasse,  dragon wrasse, bar-cheeked wrasse, olive-scribbled wrasse or reindeer wrasse, is a species of wrasse mainly found in coral reefs and lagoons in the Indo-Pacific region. These include habitats in the Gulf of California to Panama; tropical Pacific Ocean islands including Hawaii; the Philippines, Indonesia and Australia; and the Indian Ocean to the east coast of Africa. The common name, "rockmover wrasse", comes from their behavior of upending small stones and reef fragments in search of prey. This species is the only known member of its genus.

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

## Photo

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

Photo: Martin Růžicka · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/315246187

## Machine access

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