Midnight Parrotfish

The Midnight Parrotfish (Scarus coelestinus) is a large, dark Caribbean parrotfish, deep blue-black overall with vivid blue-green markings clustered around the head and beak. Like the Blue Parrotfish it does not show dramatic colour-phase differences and is impressive for its size and bold, dark coloration. It grazes algae from reef substrate with a strong beak, playing an important role in controlling algae and generating reef sand. Midnight Parrotfish are often seen in small groups moving purposefully across the reef.

Recognize the Midnight Parrotfish by:

• Dark blue-black body overall.
• Bright blue-green blotches concentrated on the head and around the beak.
• Large, robust parrotfish body with a fused beak, to ~75 cm.

The combination of very dark body and bright blue-green head markings is distinctive and separates it from the solid-blue Blue Parrotfish.

Midnight Parrotfish inhabit coral reefs and rocky reef zones from about 3 to 25 m across the western Atlantic and Caribbean. They prefer clear-water reefs with abundant algal turf on hard substrate and range widely across the reef, often crossing open areas in loose schools.

Midnight Parrotfish graze algae from reef rock and dead coral during the day, scraping with their beaks and processing substrate into fine sand. They frequently form small, roving groups that move across the reef, sometimes joining other parrotfish. At night they shelter in crevices. As protogynous hermaphrodites, dominant males spawn with females, although this species stays dark across life stages.