Parrot Fish

Parrot Fish, Parrot Wrasse, any fish of the Labroid genus Scarus and some allied genera, so called fromtheirbrilliant coloration, and the beak-like shape of the jaws. Scarus has nine species from the tropical Atlantic, and one (6. cretensis) from the Mediterranean. This last was known to the Romans, and by them highly esteemed as a delicacy. The other genera, with about eighty species, are tropical, and, though most of them are eaten, some acquire poisonous properties from their food, which consists of corals or fucus.