Parrotfish

ID points

• Teeth fused into a parrot-like beak
• Colour usually a mix of blue-green and pink-purple
• Rows with the pectoral fins only, swimming with a rocking motion

Basics

Family

Scaridae

Length

30–70 cm

Depth

1-40 m

Regions

Indo-Pacific reefs · Caribbean & W. Atlantic

Distribution

Tropical coral reefs of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans

Habitat

Shallow tropical coral reefs

Diet

Algae growing on coral

Easily confused with

Bumphead ParrotfishForehead swollen into a large, almost vertical bulgeSemicircle AngelfishAdults grey-green, with blue on the gill cover and fin edgesAchilles TangInk black body with a bright orange teardrop patch on the tail base

Fun fact

A parrotfish scrapes algae off the reef with its beak-like teeth, digests the coral skeleton it swallows along the way and passes the rest out as white sand, one of the main sources of tropical white beaches.