Stats

Lifespan

5-11 yrs

Size

Medium

Diet

Herbivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

School

Biome

Coral reef

Range

Indo-Pacific

Movement

Swimming

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Uncommon

About

A stocky reef fish named for its rounded, bullet-shaped head and fused beak-like teeth used to scrape algae from coral. Terminal-phase males are vivid blue-green with bold pink and orange facial markings.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   hatchling fry

   A tiny fry hatches with a yolk sac and begins free-swimming once the sac is absorbed.
2. 2.
   juvenile

   A juvenile takes on adult body shape and feeds on small prey, often in nursery waters.
3. 3.
   adult

   Fully grown at adult size and coloration.

Learn more

• View on iNaturalist →
• Watch on YouTube →

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Actinopterygii

Order

Labriformes

Family

Labridae

Genus

Chlorurus

Species

Chlorurus sordidus