Blue Parrotfish – That Blue Fish!!

The seas and oceans of the world are home to unimaginable life forms that are waiting to be discovered. Among the species that we already know of, the variety and sheer diversity is so great that it might take years for anyone to get to know even a fraction of it all.
One of these amazing creatures is the Blue Parrotfish, found in the deep waters of the Western Atlantic Ocean. This beautiful fish is as blue as the sea itself. Scientifically known as the Scarus coeruleu, this bright coloured fish has a uniform shade of blue throughout its body with a little yellow spot on the head that fades away as the fish grows older. It is the only known species of fish with a uniform shade of blue on it. This happy looking creature can grow up to a size of 1 metre and is easy to spot in a coral reef, set against the paler colours of sand and coral. It belongs to a larger family of fish known as the Parrot fish. 
 
Parrot fish feed on plankton and algae by scraping them off sub-surface rocks with the help of their teeth, fused together into one flat, blade-like structure. What is interesting to know about the Blue Parrotfish is also the fact they own another set of teeth in their throat, commonly known as Pharyngeal Teeth. This second set of teeth is utilised to grind pieces of rock or coral they might have accidentally ingested. They grind these stones into fine sand, later releasing it into the ocean. A single fish can produce about a tonne of sand over the course of its life.