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- EnglishName: Slingjaw wrasse
- Local Name : Thun dhamaa hikaa
- Size : Max. 35 cm
- Family: LABRIDAE
- Order : Perciformes
- Distinctive Characters: Dorsal fin with 9 spines and 10 rays. Anal fin with 3 spines and 8-9 rays. Pectoral fin with 12 rays. Body depth 2.0-2.3 in standard length. Jaws extremely protractile. Pelvic fins of adults long. Preopercular margin smooth. Caudal fin of males with prolonged lobes.
- Colour: Usual colour dark brown, occasionally yellow. Lower head and thorax abruptly pale grey. A large diffuse orangish area on nape and adjacent upper part of the body. Juveniles brown with 3 narrow white bars on body and white lines radiating from eye.
- Habitat and Biology: Found mostly in shallow coral reefs at depths of 5 or 6 m. Solitary in habit. Feeds mainly on small fishes, crabs and shrimps, which it captures by rapid protrusion of the jaws.
- Distribution: Indo-Pacific.
- Remarks: Epibulus insidiator is a common inhabitant of the Maldivian reefs. It can be seen in two very different colour forms.