Parrotfish (sparisoma cretense)
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Common name Parrotfish
Scientific name Sparisoma cretense
Class Osteichthyes
Order Perciformes
Family Scaridi
Distribution The Mediterranean and the Eastern Atlantic Ocean from Portugal to Senegal.
Habitat rocky or sandy substrates and also close to meadows of Posidonia oceanica at depths ranging from 1 - 2 metres up to 50 m.
Dimensions Can grow to a length of 50 cm.
Characteristicts The teeth a fused together and resemble plates similar to a beak; the body is egg-shaped and the head conical.

Description
The body is egg-shaped, long and slightly flattened. The head is conical and the nose squashed. The mouth has a short jaw and the teeth are fused together, forming a sort of beak made up of four plates. There is only one long dorsal fin. The rear edge of the caudal fin is convex. The females are a reddish colour with a brown spot behind the operculum above the pectorals and a yellow spot on the base of the tail fin behind the dorsal fin. Males are brownish or green with small white dots on the back and sides.

Biology
Reproduction takes place between August and September. The species usually lives in groups of 3 - 6 individuals of both sexes and swims amongst the rocks hunting for fish and invertebrates. The parrotfish retreats to its lair in deeper waters during the night.