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Common parrotfish

Scarus psittacus

  • Fish
  • IUCN: Least concern
  • Usual depth4–21 m
  • Water temperature22–30 °C
  • Best monthsSeptember and October
  • How commonCommon
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About this species

Scarus psittacus, the common parrotfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a parrotfish, in the family Scaridae. Other common names for this species include the palenose parrotfish, Batavian parrotfish and the rosy-cheek parrotfish. It has a wide distribution in the Indo-Pacific region where it is associated with coral reefs. This species is utilised as food. It is the type species of the genus Scarus.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Scarus psittacus”, 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: 299 records
  • February: 397 records
  • March: 553 records
  • April: 504 records
  • May: 469 records
  • June: 463 records
  • July: 386 records
  • August: 594 records
  • September: 1,056 records
  • October: 646 records
  • November: 102 records
  • December: 84 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 4–21 m · Deepest record: 30 m

  • 0–10 m: 2,741 records
  • 10–20 m: 1,885 records
  • 20–30 m: 668 records
  • 30–40 m: 14 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 22–30 °C

  • 20–22 °C: 10 records
  • 22–24 °C: 10 records
  • 24–26 °C: 228 records
  • 26–28 °C: 149 records
  • 28–30 °C: 149 records

Names and classification

English
Common parrotfish, Palenose parrotfish, Batavian Parrotfish, common parrotfish, Palenosed Parrot, palenose parrotfish, Palenose Parrotfish, Common parrotfish, Rosy-cheek Parrotfish
Names in 5 more languages
German
Fahlnasen-Papageifisch
Filipino
Isdang loro, Luro, Lutiin
French
Perroquet à gros ventre, Perroquet commun, Perroquet Prairie
Japanese
Omubudai, Ômubudai, オウムブダイ
Simplified Chinese
棕吻鸚哥魚, 棕吻鸚嘴魚, 棕吻鹦嘴鱼, 蠔魚(雌), 青衫(雄), 鸚哥

Other scientific names: Callyodon bataviensis, Callyodon erythacus, Callyodon forsteri, Callyodon hornbosteli, Pseudocarus oktodon, Pseudoscarus filholi, Pseudoscarus forskalii, Pseudoscarus labiosus, Scarus balinensis, Scarus bataviensis, Scarus brunneus, Scarus forskalii, Scarus forsteri, Scarus galena, Scarus gilberti, Scarus hertit, Scarus jenkinsi, Scarus oktodon, Scarus taeniurus, Scarus venosus, Xanothon bataviensis, Xanothon carifanus, Xanothon oktodon, Xanothon parvidens, Xanothon venosus

Similar species

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).
  • 8,532 open-data records from 1775 to 2024.

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