Parrotfish & Wrasse

Group 6: Swim with Pectorals / Obvious Scales

Parrotfish & Wrasse

Group 6 - Swim with Pectorals / Obvious Scales : The fish in this group all use their pectoral fins to swim with rather than the traditional tail swimming of most other fish. The scales are also quite large and obvious. These fish can also be hermaphrodites, like the groupers, with some fish changing sex and others staying the same. Intermediate and adult fish often have very different appearances compared to the always-male terminal phase. This means learning two colors to be able to ID the same species of fish. Most of the pictures shown in this curriculum are terminal phase males, unless noted.

Peacock Razor Fish (Iniistius pavo)

Iniistius pavo can be identified by the dark vertical bar situated below the eye. This species has a small dark spot below the forward portion of the dorsal fin, a white patch behind the side behind the pectoral fin, and an oblique brown bar underneath the eye. It normally shows 5 dark bars when adult when the belly of female turns red. Juveniles have a black anal fin and two large eyespots which have narrow white margins in their dorsal fin.

Bluechin Parrotfish, initial phase (loro banba azul, Scarus ghobban)

The bluechin parrotfish is probably the most common parrotfish divers will encounter in the Gulf of California. This is the initial phase and the five uneven, blue bars along the back of the body distinguish this fish. (Size 9-12”)

Azure Parrotfish, terminal phase (loro verdeazul, Scarus compressus)

The azure parrot is brightly colored in both initial and terminal colorations. The insides of the pectoral fins are orange. The tail fin is straight. Both phases have bright green markings that radiate from the eye. (Size 12-18”, max 2 ft)

Bicolor Parrotfish, initial phase (loro violacio, Scarus rubroviolaceus)

It is easy to see how the bicolor parrot got its name. Both initial and terminal phases, though different in coloration, have distinct front and rear colorations. The heads of the bicolor are also much more blunt than the other parrotfish. This is the initial phase. (Size 9-12”)

Bumphead Parrotfish (loro jorabado, Scarus perrico)

A rare and regal treat is a swim with the bumphead parrotfish. Reaching a size of over two feet it is the largest and most unusual of the parrotfish. The bumphead has a very large and obvious bump on the forehead whose size increases with age. There is no obvious color change between the initial and terminal phases of the Bumphead Parrot. (Size 1-2 feet, max 2.5 ft)

Loosetooth Parrot (loro pez, Nicholsina denticulata)

The loosetooth parrot is the smallest and most drab of the parrotfish. Its brown and mottled colorations help it blend in to the surrounding shallow water seagrasses that it feeds upon. The loosetooth gets its name because its teeth are not completely fused into a beak like the other parrots, so it is relegated to eating the larger seagrasses rather than scraping algae from the hard bottom. (Size 6-10”, max. 12”)

Chameleon Wrasse, initial phase (senorita camaleon, Halichoeres dispilus)

The chameleon wrasse is most often seen in the Initial phase and lacks much in the way of coloration. Its pearly white body does have a small spot above the pectoral fin – the change button. If one is lucky enough to see the brightly colored terminal phase the spot would still be present as an ID key. (Size 4-6”, max. 8”)

Rainbow Wrasse (vieja de Cortes, Thalassoma lucasanum)

Probably the most common of all the wrasses, the rainbow wrasse has colors as bright and delineated as a rainbow. The rainbow can be found feeding in huge numbers up in the water on almost any reef near open water. This is the initial phase and you are likely to see large schools of this fish on most dives in the Central and Southern Gulf of California. (Size 2.5-4”)

Spinster Wrasse (vieja soltera, Halichoeres nicholsi)

The spinster wrasse has a larger body than most other wrasses reaching a size of over one foot. Both initial and terminal phases have a dark bar coming down their body just behind the pectoral fin. Think of the upside down T as standing for “teacher” because teachers were once thought to be spinsters. (Size 7-12”, max. 15”)

Wounded Wrasse (senorita herida, Halichoeres chierchiae)

It is obvious to see how the wounded wrasse got its name when you see the terminal phase. The bright red spot on its side can be thought of as a red wound. (Max. size 8”)

Mexican Hogfish, initial phase (vieja de piedra, Bodianus diplotaenia)

Hogfishes are members of the wrasse family, but because of their unique shape they have acquired a separate common name. Much larger in size and with a very distinct hog-shaped mouth, the hogfish feeds primarily on invertebrates and can often be found looking under rocks for brittle stars or crabs. This is an initial phase adult. They are reddish with a yellow tail and two black stripes from eye to tail. (Size 5-10”)

Rockmover Wrasse (Novaculichthys taeniourus)

The rockmover wrasse is a colorful fish, 27–30 cm (11–12 in) in length. It has an oblong, laterally compressed body and a wedge-shaped head. Its head is scaleless except for two scales on the upper part of the gill coverings and an almost vertical row of small scales behind each eye.

Juveniles and adults have markedly different appearances. In juveniles, the first two dorsal fin spines are long and extended, drooping over the fish's forehead to form a "cowlick". As the fish matures, the elongated rays are lost.

Choose another fish Category

1. Disks and Ovals / Colorful

The first category of disk and oval shaped fish are very important to learn. They are colorful, large and very obvious and the three main families that make up the group can be found on almost every dive.

2. Silvery Fish

Silvery fish have many different family members, though we will look at just a few representatives. As opposed to the colorful butterfly, angel and surgeonfish, the silvery fish tend to blend in better in open water and are usually not found near the colorful bottom.

3. Sloping Head / Tapered Body

This third group of “fish-like” fish, are very important to learn. The are common on most dives and are also highly sought after as food fish. It is especially important to monitor these fish to provide data for fisheries management. Snappers can be very difficult to tell apart from the similarly shaped grunts. One helpful hint is to look at their tails. Snappers tend to have straight, flat tails. They are also known for their habit of snapping their mouth open and shut when caught on hook and line. They have very sharp canine teeth that can provide a nasty bite to the unsuspecting angler. Look closely on your next dive and you may see the small teeth protruding from the side of the mouth. Grunts on the other hand, have slightly notched tails. They get their name from the grunting sounds they emit when threatened. These sounds are created by rubbing together bony teeth plates located in the back of the throat. Since the teeth are in the throat, a diver will never see protruding teeth on a grunt, only big blubbery fish lips.

4. Small Ovals / Damselfish

While divers tend to first notice the larger, more obvious fish on a dive, after a short while the challenge to find new species leads them to change their search image to look for smaller, previously unnoticed fish. Generally, the first new species a diver will encounter will belong to the small oval shaped group. This group is broken into the damselfish and their close cousins the chromis. Damsels are like the surgeonfish in that they eat algae. They do not roam around grazing, but rather tend to small algae gardens like a farmer. These areas are guarded fiercely as the algae farm is the damsels food source. For that reason you can think of the damselfish as not just territorial, but Dam- selfish with its territory. Many damselfish have distinctly different colors as juveniles, often being much brighter and more colorful when they are young and becoming drab with age. (much like us humans!) For this reason, the juveniles have been heavily collected for the aquarium trade and are under heavy fishing pressure. As part of the REEF Fish Survey Project, divers are asked to monitor the juveniles and adults separately in two of the damselfish species – the Cortez damselfish and the giant damselfish.

5. Heavy Body / Large Lips

Heavy bodied, large lipped fish belong to the seabass family. We tend to refer to the larger seabasses as groupers and the smaller seabasses as bass or basslets. These fish are extremely important food fish and are under increasing threats from heavy fishing pressures. Monitoring these fish can help provide valuable data to aid in their protection. Most seabasses are hermaphrodites, meaning the same fish will be both a male and a female during its lifetime. The groupers are all born female and later change sex to become male. Most large groupers also congregate each year to spawn at a specific location, making them easy targets for emerging positioning and fishing technology.

6. Swim with Pectorals / Obvious Scales

The fish in this group all use their pectoral fins to swim with rather than the traditional tail swimming of most other fish. The scales are also quite large and obvious. These fish can also be hermaphrodites, like the groupers, with some fish changing sex and others staying the same. Intermediate and adult fish often have very different appearances compared to the always-male terminal phase. This means learning two colors to be able to ID the same species of fish. Most of the pictures shown in this curriculum are terminal phase males, unless noted.

7. Redish / Big Eyes

This group of reddish fish is normally not seen during day dives due to their nocturnal nature. The reddish color helps them blend in at night and the large eyes help them to see better.

8. Small, Elongated Bottom Dwellers

The small bottom dwelling fish often make up the most interesting fish to watch during your dive. Their approachable nature and interesting behaviors make them great fishwatching finds. Blennies tend to be slightly larger than gobies, but are most easily recognized by their curved body posture and expressive faces. Gobies, though similar in their habitat requirements, tend to sit flat and straight on the bottom. The jawfishes actually live in a burrow in the sand that they excavate and maintain.

9. Odd-Shaped Bottom-Dwellers

This category of fish is made up of families and species that didn’t quite fit anywhere else due to their unique body shapes.

10. Odd-Shaped Swimmers

This group of fish contain families that are unusual in their shape, but are swimmers rather than bottom dwellers.

11. Eels

Though looking like snakes, eels are fish. There are several different types of eels, and we will look at two – garden eels that live in burrows in the sand and moray eels. Moray eels have a bad reputation mainly due to the constant opening and closing of their sharp toothed mouths. However, this is not a threat to divers, as this action pumps water through their gills. Most eels are actually very shy.

12. Sharks & Rays

Even though the sharks and rays are cartilaginous (their skeletons are made of cartilage instead of bones), they are still referred to as fish and count during our surveys.

Fun Facts

5 Fun Facts - Parrotfish

The family of the parrotfish consists of about 95 species and are not only beautiful but also play a crucial role in the delicate balance of our underwater ecosystems, making them a joy to observe for snorkelers and divers alike. Here are some fun facts about these remarkable fish:

Sleep in a Bubble: At night, parrotfish wrap themselves in a mucus cocoon for protection against predators. This unique behavior earned them the nickname "sleeping bags of the sea."

Beak-like Mouths: Parrotfish have beak-like mouths, which resemble a parrot's beak, hence their name. These specialized mouths are perfect for scraping algae and small organisms off coral reefs and rocks.

Sand Makers: Parrotfish are also known as "sand makers." After digesting the algae and coral they consume, they excrete fine white sand, which contributes to the formation of beautiful sandy beaches and islands in tropical regions.

Colorful Personalities: Parrotfish are renowned for their stunning, rainbow-like colors. These hues aren't just for show; they serve as a defense mechanism by helping them blend into their coral reef surroundings.

Gender Bending: Some parrotfish species are known to be hermaphrodites, meaning they can change their sex during their lifetime. This adaptation allows them to maximize reproductive opportunities within their social groups.