It is a real privilege to follow a fish from its juvenile stage to adulthood. Back in early June 2020, I spotted this little parrotfish – a Bluebarred parrotfish, Scarus ghobban – and was able to confirm its identity for the first time here on Norfolk Island. I've watched this one grow up over the last ten months or so.
I don't see him every day, but I know where I have the best chance of finding him if he is hanging around.
Parrotfish are a subspecies of the wrasse family. Parrotfish, like wrasses, swim using their pectoral (side) fins, which can look a little like mini wings as they move through the water.
One of the features that sets them apart from wrasses is their fused teeth – about 1000 of them lined up in 15 rows – into a beak-like form, hence their name. They eat ‘microscopic filamentous bacteria that live on, and just a few millimeters underneath, the calcareous surface of the reef’, and to get at these they chow down on the hard coral skeletons. More teeth in their throat (plates known as a pharyngeal mill) grind the coral into a paste so they can extract the nutritious coral polyps and algae. What comes out the other end is beautiful white sand.
Parrotfish are thoought to be vital to the health of coral reefs. In places where they have been overfished, the ecosystem is not as productive. So perhaps it’s best to leave them where they are.
More information about parrotfish can be found at this fascinating article from the Smithsonian here: ‘Tough Teeth and Parrotfish Poop’, Ocean.
