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Parrotfish are mostly tropical, perciform marine fish of the family Scaridae. Abundant on shallow reefs of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, the parrotfish family contains nine genera and about 80 species.

Parrotfish are named for their oral dentition: their numerous teeth are arranged in a tightly packed mosaic on the external surface of the jaw bones, forming a parrot-like beak which is used to rasp algae from coral and other rocky substrates. Many species are also brightly coloured in shades of blue, green, red and yellow, but are not especially popular in aquaria. Although they are considered to be herbivores, parrotfish eat a wide variety of organisms that live on coral reefs. Some species, for example the giant or bumphead parrotfish, Bolbometopon muricatum, may include living corals (polyps)in their diet. Their feeding activity is important for the production and distribution of coral sands in the reef biomeA biome is not a geographic place so much as it is a major regional group of distinctive plants and animals, discernible at a global scale. The Earth's biomes comprise the biosphere and are described by the study of ecology. The concept of the biome embra 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.

Maximum sizes vary widely within the family, from 20 cm (TL) in the smallest species, such as the green parrotfish (Leptoscarus viagiensis) to 1.5 m (TL) in the largest species, the bump-head or giant parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum). A commercial fisherylobster boat unloading its catch in Ilfracombe harbour, North Devon, England A fishery (plural: fisheries) is an organized effort by humans to catch fish or other aquatic species, an activity known as fishing. Generally, a fishery exists for the purpose o exists for some of the larger tropical species. Their bodies are deep, with large, thick cycloidA cycloid is the curve defined by a fixed point on a wheel as it rolls, or, more precisely, the locus of a point on the rim of a circle rolling along a straight line. The cycloid was first studied by Nicholas of Cusa and later by Mersenne. It was named by 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.

Parrotfish are diurnalThe term diurnal means active in the daytime. This definition is often related to animals or plants. The opposite of the nocturnal or crepuscular. Diurnal means daily, especially pertaining to actions which are completed in 24 hours and are repeated every and stay within shallow waters of no more than about 70 metres in depth. By night they cram themselves into crevices, some species secreting a thick coat of mucus as a sort of sleeping bag. The mucus is thought to mask their scent from nocturnal predators and may serve to protect the fish from infection by parasites.

The development of parrotfish 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 wrasseWrasses image here : Animalia : Chordata : Actinopterygii : Perciformes Labridae Genera 60 genera The wrasses are a family of reef safe marine fish, many of which are brightly-colored and popular for aquaria. The family is large and diverse, with about 50s of the family Labridae.

Known as the "ruminants of the sea," 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. Curiously, 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 planktonPlankton is the aggregate community of weakly swimming but mostly drifting small organisms that inhabit the water column of the ocean, seas, and bodies of freshwater. The name comes from the Greek term, —meaning "wanderer" or "drifter". While some forms o. The eggs float freely, settling into the substrate until hatching.