Midnight parrotfish (Scarus coelestinus)
Key facts
- Scientific name
- Scarus coelestinus
- Common name
- Midnight parrotfish
- Category
- Fish
- Family
- Labridae
- Genus
- Scarus
- Size
- 30–77 cm
- Depth
- 5–25 m
- IUCN status
- Least concern (LC)
- Danger level
- Harmless
- Habitats
- coral-reef
- Behaviours
- schooling, grazer
- Ocean zones
- Caribbean, Eastern Pacific
Description
Scarus coelestinus reaches 77 cm. Large Caribbean parrotfish with entirely dark blue to purple-black body (hence midnight), powerful white-green beak. Juveniles with yellow snout. Protogynous hermaphrodite. Lives in loose groups from 5 to 25 m on coral reefs of Caribbean. Herbivore crushes coral and algae, massive bioerosion. Local overfishing. Spectacular photo subject for size and dramatic uniform color. One of the largest Caribbean parrotfish.
Photo of Midnight parrotfish
Frequently asked questions
- How big is the Midnight parrotfish?
- Midnight parrotfish (Scarus coelestinus) reaches 30–77 cm in length.
- At what depth can you find the Midnight parrotfish?
- Midnight parrotfish is found between 5–25 m deep.
- Is the Midnight parrotfish dangerous to divers?
- Danger level: Harmless.
- What is the conservation status of the Midnight parrotfish?
- IUCN status: Least concern (LC).
- Where can you find the Midnight parrotfish?
- Found in: Caribbean, Eastern Pacific.
Other species in the genus Scarus
- Scarus iseri - Striped parrotfish
- Scarus coeruleus - Blue parrotfish
- Scarus vetula - Queen parrotfish
- Scarus taeniopterus - Princess parrotfish
- Scarus perrico - Bumphead parrotfish Pacific
- Scarus ghobban - Blue-barred parrotfish (Eastern Pacific)
Other species in the family Labridae
- Labrus merula - Brown wrasse
- Bodianus rufus - Spanish hogfish
- Bodianus pulchellus - Cuban hogfish
- Halichoeres pictus - Rainbow wrasse
- Halichoeres cyanocephalus - Yellowcheek wrasse
- Sparisoma chrysopterum - Redtail parrotfish
Sources
- Taxonomy: WoRMS (AphiaID 276042)
- Photos: iNaturalist (CC BY-NC)
- Distribution: GBIF (taxonKey 2393609)
- Conservation: IUCN Red List
- Encyclopedia: Wikipedia