parrotfish

Everyday

1. A parrotfish is a brightly coloured fish of coral reefs with teeth joined into a beak like a parrot's. tree →
2. It scrapes and bites coral to eat the algae on it. tree →

In the lessons

In science, parrotfish keep coral reefs healthy by eating algae. They grind coral and poo out fine white sand, so a lot of beach sand on tropical islands comes from them. Some sleep in a bubble of mucus.

Examples

• The parrotfish crunched on the coral. tree →
• Parrotfish make white sand on tropical beaches. tree →
• We saw a blue and green parrotfish when snorkelling. tree →
• A parrotfish sleeps in a slimy bubble. tree →
• Its mouth looks like a parrot's beak. tree →
• Parrotfish help keep the reef clean. tree →

Note

Plural usually «parrotfish». It is a fish, not a bird.