Marbled parrotfish

Leptoscarus vaigiensis

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth1–19 m
Water temperature18–30 °C
Best monthsMay
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Susan Prior, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The marbled parrotfish, also known as the seagrass parrotfish, is a species of parrotfish, the only known member of the genus Leptoscarus. It has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution and is also found in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean. It is a coastal species found in beds of sea grass and seaweed.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Marbled parrotfish”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 18 records
February: 21 records
March: 29 records
April: 36 records
May: 210 records
June: 27 records
July: 17 records
August: 18 records
September: 27 records
October: 43 records
November: 41 records
December: 111 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–19 m · Deepest record: 360 m

0–10 m: 53 records
10–20 m: 11 records
20–30 m: 3 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 1 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 3 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 18–30 °C

16–18 °C: 1 records
18–20 °C: 1 records
20–22 °C: 88 records
22–24 °C: 19 records
24–26 °C: 184 records
26–28 °C: 296 records
28–30 °C: 83 records

Photos

no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Susan Prior, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Ewout Knoester, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Ewout Knoester, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Lisa_James, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Michael Bakker Paiva, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Ditch Townsend, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Marbled parrotfish, Blue-spotted Parrotfish, marbled parrotfish, Marbled Parrot-fish, Marbled Seagrass, Petroleum Parrotfish, Seagrass Parrotfish, Seagrass Parrotfish, Marbled parrotfish, Slender Parrotfish

Names in 6 more languages

German: Seegras-Papageifisch
Spanish: Loro Jaspeado
Filipino: Isdang loro, Luro, Lutiin
French: Perroquet des herbiers, Perroquet marbré, Perroquet Pétrole
Japanese: Mizorebudai, ミゾレブダイ
Simplified Chinese: 纖鸚嘴魚, 纖鸚鯉, 臊魚, 蠔魚, 鸚哥

Other scientific names: Calliodon chlorolepis, Calliodon chlorolepsis, Leptoscarus coeruleopunctatus, Leptoscarus vaigeinsis, Leptoscarus vaigensis, Leptoscarus vaigienis, Scarichthys auritus, Scarichthys caeruleopunctatus, Scarus auritus, Scarus bottae, Scarus caeruleo-punctatus, Scarus coeruleopunctatus, Scarus naevius, Scarus rubronotatus, Scarus vaigiensis

Similar species

Blue Groper
Achoerodus gouldii
Blue Groper
Achoerodus viridis
Tripletail wrasse
Cheilinus trilobatus
Blunt-head Parrotfish
Chlorurus microrhinos
bullethead parrotfish
Chlorurus sordidus
Clown wrasse
Coris aygula

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
2,978 open-data records from 1824 to 2023.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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