Parrotfish of the Great Barrier Reef
Michelle Brayshaw's artwork showing the differing body colours of twenty-two initial and terminal Parrotfish species on the Great Barrier Reef. The colour differences between the terminal males (top photo) and the initial phase (bottom photo) can be clearly seen.
Source: Parrotfish of the Great Barrier Reef. Rainbows under the Sea by Michelle Brayshaw, 2025
#MarineBiology
#GreatBarrierReef
#fish
#parrotfish
#books
#biodiversity
#FishFriday 
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“Ceramic bottles modeled and painted in the form of #parrotfish. Moche style, Peru.” [Moche culture c.100-800CE]
On display at @ AMNH NYC [B/3663, 41.2/7779]
The 2nd vessel with the bump on the head likely represents the appropriately named Bumphead Parrotfish (Scarus perrico)!
#IndigenousArt #AndeanArt
The huge Humphead parrotfish
#gili #giliislands #lombok #diving #scuba #trawangan #dive&stay #giliair #fish #ocean #sealife #marinelife #padi #humphead #parrotfish #parrot
Vintage Japanese Parrotfish, watercolor.
ART - https://deborah-league.pixels.com/featured/vintage-japanese-parrotfish-deborah-league.html
https://www.alojapan.com/1177258/japanese-street-food-giant-blue-parrotfish-okinawa-seafood-japan/ Japanese Street Food – GIANT BLUE PARROTFISH Okinawa Seafood Japan #ceviche #food #fruit #FruitSalad #Japan #JapanStreetFood #JapaneseFood #JapaneseStreetFood #Okinawa #ParrotFish #parrotfish #sashimi #SeaGrapes #seafood #StreetFood #sushi? #TokyoStreetFood #UmiBudo Japanese Street Food – GIANT BLUE PARROTFISH Okinawa Seafood Japan …
This awkward fish works harder than you.
Its day job helps prevent an iconic ocean ecosystem from collapsing https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/375178/parrotfish-algae-coral-reef-climate-change #fish #parrotfish #environment #ecosystem #ocean
Guardians of the reef: How #parrotfish promote coral health https://phys.org/news/2024-09-guardians-reef-parrotfish-coral-health.html
Dear enemy effects in the stoplight parrotfish, Sparisoma viride https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecy.4407
"They have strong, beak-like teeth that allow them to spend up to 90% of the day munching on microscopic organisms that grow on and within the calcium carbonate structures created by #corals. As the #fish remove coral skeletons, they create space for new corals to grow and produce white sand as their digestive waste."
5-Sep-2024
Guardians of the reef: How #parrotfish promote #coral health
Dancing yeti #crabs, morphing #cuttlefish, other stories from the #DeepSea https://www.npr.org/2024/07/24/1198910431/sabrina-imbler-deep-sea-creatures
As a kid, Sabrina Imbler loved the #ocean. They'd swim, snorkel, following around #parrotfish in the water. Later, they tried to learn everything they could about these brightly colored tropical #fish, like how they produce a mucus bubble to sleep in or how they keep #CoralReefs healthy... In 2022, they released a collection of essays called How Far The Light Reaches: A Life In Ten Sea Creatures.
The world’s fourth mass #CoralBleaching is underway, but well-connected #reefs may have a better chance to recover https://theconversation.com/the-worlds-fourth-mass-coral-bleaching-is-underway-but-well-connected-reefs-may-have-a-better-chance-to-recover-230755
"#Corals remain healthier and recover faster if they are surrounded by #fish that eat different types of #seaweed, such as #parrotfish, #surgeonfish and #rabbitfish. #SeaCucumbers also are important reef partners. They feed on #bacteria and other organic materials in ocean sediments, cleaning up the area around #CoralReefs."
Did you know that some of the pristine white sand you feel between your toes originates from an unexpected source? The fine-grained particles are actually parrotfish poop!
These vibrantly-colored fish earn their name from their beak-like mouths, which are fused teeth called pharyngeal mills. With these powerful “beaks,” parrotfish bite and scrape algae off rocks and dead coral.
But their diet doesn’t stop there! Parrotfish also munch on dead organic matter, seagrasses, sponges, and other small marine invertebrates. Their gizzard-like digestive system grinds up this diet of crunchy coral.
The undigested calcium carbonate from the coral is then excreted as smooth, white, sandy particles – creating and replenishing the beaches we all enjoy. 
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So, the next time you relax on a beautiful sandy beach, thank the humble parrotfish for their vital role in coastal ecosystems. Nature’s sand sculptors at work!
#Parrotfish #CoralReefs #MarineLife #Beaches #SandSculptors
Parrotfish waste accounts for a whopping 85% of all the sand in the Maldives.
Some #Caribbean #parrotfishes find benthic #CyanobacterialMats particularly tasty https://oceanbites.org/some-caribbean-parrotfishes-find-benthic-cyanobacterial-mats-particularly-tasty/
Preferential consumption of benthic cyanobacterial mats by Caribbean parrotfishes https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00338-023-02404-5
"this research shows that #parrotfish grazing may help control the overgrowth of #benthic #cyanobacteria mats in #reefs, providing further support that parrotfishes are critical components of #reef ecosystems"
A Palenose Parrotfish swimming the waters of south Oahu. These multi-hued fish can grow to 30 cm. Your #Hawaii #sealife #photooftheday
Some fishes from our dives with @slomo in Ammouliani on the second weekend of June.
Featuring: an ornate wrasse, two brown parrotfishes that look like they are kissing, nudibranch eggs, and a marbled goby camouflaged in the sand.
