You might think the parrotfish was named for its bright colors resembling its feathered namesake, but the clue is actually on the tip of the nose.
…Or in this case, the “beak.”
Parrotfishes, also called pollyfishes, are so named for their powerful cutting-edged beaks, formed of fused incisorlike jaw teeth. With these they scrape from the surface of coral, algae, polyps, and other small plant and animal life upon which they feed. Parrotfishes also have a set of grinding teeth, located in the throat in front of the esophagus, with which they further break up their food to prepare it for the action of digestive enzymes. (Encyclopedia.com)
They can be spotted frequently on the Cayman Reef Live Cam here. See what’s flying beneath the surface now!
