The Midnight Parrotfish is not easily confused with any other species due to its coloration. The Midnight Parrotfish is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean including the Gulf of Mexico and the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Caribbean. The Midnight Parrotfish are exceedingly rare and is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction. Externally fertilized eggs are pelagic but quickly settle to the bottom and hatch within 24 hours. They are protogynous hermaphrodites with spawning occurring in large aggregations. They are daytime foragers spending 80% of their time in search of food and primarily scraping algae and small organisms off rocks. ![]() As of March 31, 2022, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 4.19 kg (9 lbs 4 oz) with the fish caught in coastal waters off Key Largo, Florida in March 2005. They reach a maximum length of 77 cm (2 feet 6 inches) and 7.0 kg (15 lbs 3 oz) in weight and are the third largest parrotfish in the Caribbean. ![]() ![]() They inhabit coral reefs and rubble flats and can be found in schools. The Midnight Parrotfish is a shallow water coastal species found in tropical and subtropical areas of the Caribbean at depths between 3 m (10 feet) and 76 m (250 feet). They are covered with large smooth scales. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 9 rays their caudal fin is “W”-shaped with elongated lobes their dorsal fin is continuous without a notch and has 9 spines and 10 rays. They have 1 or 2 canine teeth on the rear side of their top jaw. Their top jaw overlaps the lower jaw at the front forming a protruding snout. Their teeth are blue-green and fused into a beak with 2 broad joined plates on each jaw. Part of their head is black while other parts are bright blue. Unlike most other parrotfish, juveniles, males, and females are all similarly colored. They are uniquely colored with a bright blue background and large scales with black trim. The Midnight Parrotfish has an elongated, oval, and somewhat compressed body. Globally, there are sixty-four species in the genus Scarus, of which ten are found in Mexican waters, six in the Atlantic and four in the Pacific Ocean. The Midnight Parrotfish, Scarus coelestinus, is a member of the Parrotfish or Scaridae Family, that is also known as the Nightowl Parrotfish and in Mexico as loro de medianoche. Photograph courtesy of Juan Rojo, Akumal. Midnight Parrotfish, S carus coelestinus. Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters of Yal Ku, Quintana Roo, April 2017. Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Josh Leisen (), Gaylord, Michigan. Midnight Parrotfish, Scarus coelestinus. Fish caught off the Channel 5 Bridge (MM 71.4), Florida Keys, Florida, January 2017. Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Fish caught off the Channel 5 Bridge (MM 71.4), Florida Keys, Florida, February 2017. Midnight Parrotfish, S carus coelestinus. ![]()
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