Mediterranean Parrotfish - Sparisoma cretense - Beak-Like Teeth at Cirkewwa

A Mediterranean parrotfish (Sparisoma cretense) swimming beside the rocky reef at Cirkewwa Marine Park, Malta, with its distinctive pale beak clearly visible.

This photograph shows a Mediterranean parrotfish (Sparisoma cretense) swimming close to the rocky underwater landscape at Cirkewwa Marine Park, Malta. Seen in side profile, the fish's robust dark body contrasts with its pale tail and especially its prominent white, beak-like dental plates, one of the most distinctive features of a parrotfish. Sparisoma cretense belongs to the wrasse family Labridae and is the characteristic parrotfish of the Mediterranean, although its distribution also extends into the eastern Atlantic from Portugal and the Macaronesian islands southwards towards Senegal. It is particularly associated with rocky coastal habitats and feeds primarily on algae, together with small invertebrates. The powerful dental apparatus allows the fish to scrape food from hard surfaces, making its unusual mouth well adapted to its feeding behaviour. Mediterranean parrotfish commonly reach around 30 centimetres in length, while larger individuals can grow to approximately 50 centimetres.