Queen Parrotfish

Scarus vetula

The colorful Queen Parrotfish, with it's well defined yellow mouth with blue mustache and jaw markings, is actually the adult breeding male. The dull gray/brown with white side stripe is the female. It makes me wonder why it's not called the 'King' parrotfish. They can grow up to two feet in length. They are not as common as the Stoplight Parrotfish, and are wary. It seems like they don't see you as they go about scraping a mouthful of algae off a rock, and act nonchalant very as they continually move away from you. You can thank the parrotfishes for the beautiful white sandy beaches.