Tool use by the orange wrasse Pseudolabrus luculentus and doubleheader Coris bulbifrons

Abstract

The present study investigated whether temperate wrasses in a geographical location in the southern hemisphere break open crab prey on anvils. Here, tool‐use behaviour is reported in two temperate wrasses, the orange wrasse Pseudolabrus luculentus and the doubleheader Coris bulbifrons, at Lord Howe Island, Australia. In addition to the previous observations of this behaviour, these findings suggest that tool use is common and may be ubiquitous, in medium‐sized carnivorous wrasses that are undergoing an ontogenetic shift from soft‐bodied to hard‐shelled prey.

Tool use involving a different prey type, microhabitat and location, and long‐term anvil use, by the graphic tuskfish Choerodon graphicus (De Vis 1885)

“…As the environment influences an animal's behaviour (Fricke, 1973), it is possible that some locations are more likely to select for the development of tool-use behaviour. Contenders include the Red Sea (Fricke, 1971(Fricke, , 1973, the Mediterranean Sea (Sala, 1997;Wirtz & Diesel, 1983), Belize (Wainwright, 1988) and Lord Howe Island (Pryor, 2022), where four, three, three and two, respectively, tool-using wrasse species have been observed. Most of these locations have protected coral reef communities and may contain abundant prey and potential anvils.…”

“…Tool use at an anvil (hard surface) occurs when a fish breaks open a hard‐shelled prey item on an anvil and then eats the flesh inside the prey item. It has been documented in at least 21 species in the family Labridae (wrasses) (Ayling & Grace, 1971; Bernardi, 2011; Coyer, 1995; Dunn, 2015; Fricke, 1971, 1973; Harborne & Tholan, 2016; Heiser, 1981; Jones et al, 2011; Paśko, 2010; Pryor, 2022; Pryor & Milton, 2019; Sala, 1997; Tribble, 1982; Wainwright, 1988; Wirtz & Diesel, 1983), although some accounts lack photographic or video evidence (Table 1). The phenomenon has been observed in tropical, subtropical and temperate locations around the world (Figure S1).…”