PARROTFISH

Parrotfish are well-known for their size and bright colors. In Hawaii they are especially popular on the dinner table and are a prime target of spear and net fishermen.



There are three distinct groups of Parrotfish in Hawaii, two of which are what might be called the typical Scarids, having fused beaks with a smooth surface. They either have a gently tapering or blunt, angular head. They feed upon minute algae cells living within reef rock (coralline algae) and Porites coral. They grind this material into sand with bony plates in their throat, digest the algal cells, and expel fine powdery sand as the end product, contributing to the sediment. The genus Calotomus has a beak with a rough cobblestone surface used to graze leafy seaweeds.



“Parrotfish are mostly tropical, perciform marine fish of the Scaridae family. Abundant on shallow reefs of the Red Sea, Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans”