Nature’s Best Photography
Ocean Views
Experience the Ocean Through the Art of Photography
June 11, 2008 through November 2008
Parrotfish (Scaridae family)
Komodo National Park, Indonesia
by John Scarlett, Austin, Texas, USA
Colorful parrotfish are abundant in shallow,
tropical waters worldwide. Using beak-like front
teeth, they feed by scraping algae from reefs.
Small pieces of coral are consumed along with
the algae and are pulverized by pharyngeal teeth
in their throats. Undigested coral is then excreted
as sand. Protecting parrotfish is a way of saving
coral reefs from being over-grown with seaweed.
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