Ember parrotfish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ember parrotfish |
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The ember parrotfish (Scarus rubroviolaceus) is a colorful fish that lives in the ocean. It is a type of parrotfish and belongs to the family called Scaridae. You can find these fish in the warm waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. People sometimes call them the bicolor parrotfish or the redlip parrotfish because of their looks.
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Where Ember Parrotfish Live
The ember parrotfish is found in many places and there are lots of them. They live across a huge area in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. You can spot them from Japan all the way to eastern Africa and even near the Hawaiian islands.
What Ember Parrotfish Look Like
Ember parrotfish look different depending on if they are male or female. This is called being sexually dimorphic. The male fish are usually a bright, greenish-blue color. The females, however, are a more dull brown color.
Life and Habits of the Ember Parrotfish
Ember parrotfish eat aquatic plants and tiny algae that grow on rocks. They use their strong, beak-like mouths to scrape this food off the rocks.
How Ember Parrotfish Change Sex
One really cool thing about ember parrotfish is that they can change their sex! This is called sequential hermaphroditism. When they are young, it's not clear if they are male or female.
- As they grow, when they are about 32 centimeters long and around 2.6 years old, they become female. At this stage, they are reddish-brown.
- They stay female for a while. Then, as they get bigger, around 37 centimeters long and about 13 years old, they can change into a male.
- However, some female parrotfish never change and stay female their whole lives.
- Ember parrotfish can live for a long time, sometimes up to 20 years!
Why Ember Parrotfish Are Important to People
People catch ember parrotfish for food, so they are part of the fishing industry. Some people also keep these beautiful fish in large saltwater aquariums as pets.
What's in a Name?
The scientific name for the ember parrotfish's genus is Scarus. This name comes from an old Greek word, "skaros," which means "parrotfish."
