Parrotfish Parrotfish
Queen Parrotfish

Scientific Classification

Common Name
queen parrotfish
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Osteichthyes
Order
Perciformes
Family
Scaridae
Genus Species
Scarus vetula

Fast Facts

Description
Supermale form has a green to blue-green body with a turquoise stripe along the tip of the single dorsal fin. Vibrant turquoise markings are found around mouth. Caudal fin exhibits central turquoise crescent. Solid (truncate) caudal fin. Adult form has a charcoal body with a broad white stripe running along the mid-section. Additionally, lower head may exhibit lighter coloration. Juvenile form has a white body with three black stripes running from head to tail (very similar to juvenile rainbow parrotfish, Scarus guacamaia).
Male:  Supermale: 30.5 to 40.6 cm (12 to 16 in.) avg.; 61.0 cm (2 ft.) max
Size
Adult: 15.2 to 25.4 cm (6 to 10 in.); 30.5 cm (12 in.) max
Diet
Algae (scraped from rocks and/or coral)
Incubation
Species exhibits protogyny. Fertilization is external. Species is open water/substratum egg scatterer.
Range
Western Atlantic: Bermuda, Florida, and Bahamas to northern South America
Habitat
3 to 25 meters (10 to 82 ft) in tropical & sub-tropical marine coastal waters
Population
GLOBAL No data
Status 
IUCN: Not listed
CITES:  Not listed
USFWS:  Not listed

Fun Facts

  1. The queen parrotfish secretes a mucus cocoon in which it sleeps at night. The cocoon acts to isolate the scent of the parrotfish, making it less vulnerable to predators. 
  2. For more information about bony fishes, explore the Bony Fishes InfoBook.  

Ecology and Conservation

No data


Bibliography

Bond, Carl E. Biology of Fishes - Second Edition. Saunders College Publishing, 1996.

Humann, Paul. Reef Fish Identification - Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas. New World Publications, Inc., 1992.

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