Parrotfish, Costa Rica

Parrotfish in Costa Rica

 

Costa Rica and the Pacific Ocean are famous for holding brightly colored, gorgeous fish called ‘parrotfish’. Parrotfish are beautiful because of the muted, glowing colors exhibited on their body and the graceful way with which they swim through the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Parrotfish usually live in the reefs found in seas and oceans. Scientists and marine biologists have been fascinated with parrotfish for quite some time now. Some interesting facts have come to light due to this scientific interest and exploration. It is reported that parrotfish have a set of teeth that grind against the corals they feed on for their daily diet. These teeth are called ‘pharyngeal’ teeth. Since creatures living in the reef area have frequent fights because of shortage of common food, this is very helpful for the parrotfish. This way, they can reduce the chances of fighting over food and every fish/ crustacean can secure their own food easily. Another very interesting fact about parrotfish is that they are hermaphrodites. They do not have a fixed gender and possess both sexual organs; of the male as well as the female parrotfish. This way, they can change and use whichever sex they feel is appropriate given the current situation of reproduction. The third highly fascinating fact about the parrotfish residing in the Pacific Ocean is their custom of wrapping themselves in cocoons of mucous to protect themselves from possible predators roaming the ocean at night. They sleep securely wrapped in their mucous cocoons.

Parrotfish are thought to belong to the family called Scaridae. This family of fish is absolutely huge, with over three hundred species found in this particular family. Now however, recent research challenges this claim. The newest articles believe that the Scaridae family only has about 80 or so sub species belonging to it. Of these, the parrotfish that reside in Costa Rica’s waters are believed to be the most attractive type of all the species. The parrotfish appears to change the colors of its iridescent scales as it grows through different levels of maturation in life. This may be a reason why there were believed to be so many subtypes earlier. Different localities have different names for these parrotfish, especially as they go through the different life stages of growth. The scales on the parrotfish’s body are big in size, unlike other fish that have miniscule scales on their bodies. Their jaws are constructed in a shape resembling beaks, with teeth fused to their jaws. The front of their face including the jaws and teeth resemble those of a parrot which is how they got stuck with the name ‘parrotfish’. Tropical parrots found in Costa Rica and surrounding lands are thought to closely resemble the parrotfish in the Pacific Ocean. The body of the parrotfish is long with a blunted head that is somewhat oval in shape. The cheeks of the parrotfish also have rounded scale to match with the shape of their heads. They can put on bursts of sudden speed to escape from a predator using their small but strong fins.

Video for Parrotfish

Reference

http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/fieldcourses03/PapersMarineEcologyArticles/StoplightParrotfish.html

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