Fish identification archive / Green Razorfish

Green Razorfish

Xyrichtys splendens

Fun facts for your next surface interval

It can dive into soft sand, making an open patch part of its escape cover. [source]
Green is not the only look: females and juveniles can be pink-gray or mottled brown. [source]
Its food can come from both the bottom and the drifting plankton above it. [source] [source]

Florida and local context

REEF's cumulative diver-survey report lists Xyrichtys splendens at Blue Heron Bridge (WPB), Phil Foster Park. This is a species-level citizen-science report, not an independently reidentified specimen or a prediction of present-day abundance.

A documented past record does not establish present abundance or guarantee an encounter.

Sources: REEF: Blue Heron Bridge cumulative diver-survey species report

How to recognize this animal

A thin, strongly flattened wrasse with a blunt, keeled snout. Males are greenish, with blue scale markings, orange cheek bars and one or two dark, blue-rimmed spots on the side. Females are more pink-gray with fine pale blue lines on the lower head. Juveniles may be brown and mottled rather than green.

Sources: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute: green razorfish

Size and life stages

Smithsonian reports 15 cm (6 inches); the UWI teaching account gives a smaller 12 cm maximum and describes many fish around 5–10 cm. We do not treat those summaries as identical. Juveniles have elongated front dorsal spines and darker banding. Compare life stage as well as color when using an illustration.

Sources: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute: green razorfish; University of the West Indies: green razorfish ecology

Habitat and where to look

Sand and seagrass are the main search habitats. A soft patch matters to a fish that may disappear into sediment, while vegetation provides another kind of cover. Watch from above the bottom without kneeling on sand or pressing into grass. The species’ broad depth record is not a recommendation to exceed your training.

Sources: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute: green razorfish; University of the West Indies: green razorfish ecology

Range and local context

Regional accounts place it from Bermuda and southern Florida through the Caribbean toward Brazil. The project’s local evidence is a species-level Blue Heron Bridge REEF record. A range map supports broad context; the site report supplies the more precise locality, and neither predicts how many fish a diver will see.

Sources: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute: green razorfish; University of the West Indies: green razorfish ecology

What is on the menu?

Its animal prey include small crustaceans, mollusks and planktonic organisms. UWI summarizes feeding differences between habitat types: fish can take plankton above sand or rubble and bottom prey among seagrass. Avoid calling it an herbivore merely because it is green or spends time in a grassbed.

Sources: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute: green razorfish; University of the West Indies: green razorfish ecology

Daily habits and behavior

Sand-diving is a documented escape behavior, with habitat-related differences described in research summarized by UWI. Fish on rubble habitat can use particular sandy refuge patches; grassbed fish have vegetation for concealment. Do not test that behavior by chasing one. A naturally disappearing fish has ended the photo opportunity.

Sources: University of the West Indies: green razorfish ecology

Mating and the next generation

Field studies document paired broadcast spawning with gametes released above the bottom. Female-to-male sex change is reported for this razorfish. That does not mean every fish changes sex on a fixed size or birthday. The reviewed accounts do not establish a West Palm Beach spawning timetable or guarantee a visible courtship event.

Sources: University of the West Indies: green razorfish ecology; EPA HERO bibliographic record: Nemtzov and Clark, razorfish broadcast spawning

Look-alikes and identification traps

Pearly and rosy razorfishes share the flattened body and sand-associated lifestyle. Green razorfish males’ blue-rimmed dark flank spots are useful, but females and juveniles require more care. Compare cheek pattern, body proportions and the front dorsal fin, and keep a tentative label when the diagnostic side is hidden.

Sources: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute: green razorfish

Observe without disturbing

Leave buried fish buried. Never wave sand away, poke a refuge patch or block the animal’s escape route. A short side-on sequence from a respectful distance can document phase and behavior without changing either. Keep fins and loose equipment above the seagrass and sand even when concentrating on a small subject.

Sources: University of the West Indies: green razorfish ecology

Harvest, protection and eating safety

Live-only ornamental collection; no collection at Blue Heron Bridge

Yellow means legal or safety conditions require attention. It is not an edible badge or permission to take an animal.

This color is a qualified summary, not permission to collect or a guarantee that a particular animal is safe to eat.

Can it be hunted or harvested?

Green Razorfish falls under Florida’s wrasse/hogfish/razorfish category, family Labridae. A recreational saltwater fishing license is required unless exempt. Where collection is lawful, the animal must be landed alive and maintained alive in a suitably sized circulating, aerated or oxygenated system. The recreational limit is five of this species within 20 marine-life organisms per person per day; the two-day possession limit is ten of this species within 40 total. Recreational sale is prohibited. No species-specific size limit is stated in the reviewed marine-life table.

Florida seasons and areas

The designated Blue Heron Bridge Special Marine Life Area, including Phil Foster Park and its mapped surrounding waters, is closed to collection of listed tropical ornamental marine life. Narrow motorized-vessel transit and landing exceptions concern animals lawfully taken elsewhere, not collection here. The Florida marine-life requirements also apply in adjacent federal waters. No species-specific annual closed months are stated in the reviewed marine-life table. Biscayne National Park, state parks, wildlife refuges and Florida Keys sanctuary zones can impose additional closures; check the actual location before collecting.

Can it be speared?

No recreational spearing under these live-only marine-life requirements. Collection uses authorized nonlethal hand/net/slurp-gun methods, subject to species and site restrictions. Quinaldine is prohibited.

Is it safe to eat?

This is live-only ornamental collection, not food harvest. Do not kill a collected animal for a meal. No recipe or safe-to-eat claim is provided.

Palm Beach is Atlantic Florida. Do not transfer Atlantic guidance to the Gulf, Monroe County, or federal waters without checking the applicable rules.

Before you act: Confirm the species, date, exact management area, state or federal waters, gear, licenses and current local closures. A local occurrence record never grants permission to take an animal.

Official rules and health guidance

Reviewed 2026-11-11. Rules and advisories can change; check the linked authorities before acting.

Identification and source cautions

Published maximum lengths differ (12 versus 15 cm).
Do not generalize a reproductive timing or sex-change size to Palm Beach individuals.

Sources and review

Biology and taxonomy reviewed 2026-11-11. Photographs on cited sites are reference material and are not reproduced here.

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