Parrotfish

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Parrotfish

Parrotfish are mostly tropical, perciform marine fish

Fish

A fish is any marine biology vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scale , and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins....
of the family Scaridae. Abundant on shallow reef

Reef

In nautical terminology, a reef is a Rock , bar , or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water .Many reefs result from abiotic processes?deposition of sand, wave erosion planning down rock outcrops, and other natural processes?but the best-known reefs are the coral reefs of tropical waters developed through biotic processes do...
s of the Red Sea

Red Sea

The Red Sea is a salt water inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb sound and the Gulf of Aden....
, Atlantic

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
, Indian

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean ....
and Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
s, the parrotfish family contains ten genera and about 90 species.

Characteristics
?.]]Parrotfish are named for their dentition; their numerous teeth are arranged in a tightly packed mosaic on the external surface of the jaw bones, forming a parrot

Parrot

File:Ara ararauna -eating -Wilhelma Zoo-8-2rc.jpgParrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genus that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most warm and tropical regions....
-like beak which is used to rasp algae

Algae

Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms. The largest and most complex marine forms are called seaweeds....
from coral and other rocky substrates (a process called bioerosion

Bioerosion

Bioerosion describes the erosion of hard Substrate s – and less often terrestrial substrates – by living organisms by a number of mechanisms....
).

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Encyclopedia

Parrotfish are mostly tropical, perciform marine fish

Fish

Reef

Red Sea

The Red Sea is a salt water inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb sound and the Gulf of Aden....
, Atlantic

Atlantic Ocean

Indian Ocean

Pacific Ocean

Characteristics

?.]]Parrotfish are named for their dentition; their numerous teeth are arranged in a tightly packed mosaic on the external surface of the jaw bones, forming a parrot

Parrot

Algae

Bioerosion

Bioerosion describes the erosion of hard Substrate s – and less often terrestrial substrates – by living organisms by a number of mechanisms....
). Many species are also brightly coloured in shades of blue, green, red and yellow, but are not especially popular in aquaria

Aquaria

Aquaria may refer to:*The plural of Aquarium*Aquaria , a 2D sidescrolling computer game*Aquaria , a symphonic power metal band from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil...
.

Although they are considered to be herbivore

Herbivore

Herbivory is a form of predation in which an organism, known as an herbivore, heterotrophs principally autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria....
s, parrotfish eat a wide variety of organisms that live on coral reefs. Some species, for example Bolbometopon muricatum may include coral

Coral

Corals are marine organisms from the class Anthozoa and exist as small sea anemone?like polyps, typically in colonies of many identical individuals....
s (polyp

Polyp

In zoology, a polyp is one of two forms of individuals found in many species of cnidarians. The two are the polyp or hydroid and the medusa . Polyps are approximately cylindrical, elongated on the axis of the body....
s) in their diet. Their feeding activity is important for the production and distribution of coral sands in the reef biome

Biome

Biomes are Climateally and geographically defined areas of ecologically similar climatic conditions such as Community of plants, animals, and Soil biology, and are often referred to as ecosystems....
and can prevent algae from choking coral. The teeth grow continuously, making it hard to curb overgrowth in the aquarium. Ingested during feeding, coral rock is ground up by the pharyngeal teeth

Pharyngeal teeth

Pharyngeal teeth are teeth in the pharyngeal arch of the throat of cyprinids, Catostomidaes, and a number of other fish species lacking teeth....
. After they digest this it is excreted as sand thus at times creating small islands and the idyllic sandy beaches of the bahamas and caribbean.

Maximum sizes do not vary widely within the family, with the majority of species reaching to in length. However, a very few species, such as the the bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum), are much larger, up to .

Their bodies are deep, with large, thick cycloid

Cycloid

A cycloid is the curve defined by the path of a point on the edge of circular wheel as the wheel rolls along a straight line.It is an example of a roulette , a curve generated by a curve rolling on another curve....
scales, large pectoral fins and homocercal tail fins. The pectorals are the parrotfish's primary means of locomotion, the tail only used when speed is required. Some parrotfish females can turn into male parrotfish.

Life cycle

The development of parrotfishes is complex and accompanied by a series of changes in coloration termed polychromatism. For most species, adult males and females have different colours, the females usually displaying drab tones of green, brown or grey, and the males vivid, conspicuous colours. In the Mediterranean parrotfish (Sparisoma cretense), it is the females that have vivid coloration with the males being drab grey.

In most species, the juveniles have a different colour pattern than the adults and some tropical species this juvenile coloration can be altered temporarily to mimic the appearance of other species. As the juveniles mature they enter what is termed the initial phase coloration during which they may change colour and sex. For most species, initial phase fishes are usually males that have the beginnings of the adult male coloration. However, initial phase fishes may include sexually mature females. The high variability in coloration of parrotfish has led to the different phases of many species being erroneously classified as different species in the past. Coloration is highly variable even among members of the same species. This "identity crisis" is shared by their close relatives, the wrasse

Wrasse

The wrasses are a family , Labridae, of marine fish, many of which are brightly colored. The family is large and diverse, with about 500 species in 60 genera....
s of the family Labridae.

Grazing parrotfish of most tropical species form large schools grouped by size. Harems of several females presided over by a single male are the norm in other species, the males vigorously defending their status at any challenge. If the dominant male of a harem is removed, one of the females will change sex and adopt the terminal male coloration.

Parrotfish are pelagic spawners; that is, they release many tiny buoyant eggs into the water which become part of the plankton

Plankton

Plankton consist of any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. Plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than their Phylogenetics or taxonomy classification....
. The eggs float freely, settling into the substrate until hatching.

Economic importance

A commercial fishery

Fishery

Generally, a fishery is a unit, engaged in raising and/or harvesting fish, which is determined by an authority or other entity to be a fishery....
exists for some of the larger tropical species. Their meat is rarely consumed in the US; however, it is considered a delicacy in many other parts of the world.

Protecting parrotfish is proposed as a way of saving Caribbean coral reefs from being overgrown with seaweed..

External links

on Fishbase