Scaridae sp. Parrotfish Jaws Bony Fish Osteichthyes Actinopterygii Perciformes Scaridae

Rare Jaws of Parrotfish Scaridae sp. cm 8.4 x 6.3 Bony Fish Osteichthyes Actinopterygii Perciformes Scaridae, only a piece, as in photos.
Family: Scaridae.
Common name: Parrot Fish.

Scarids (Scaridae) are a family of marine fish of the order Perciformes.
They are present in all tropical and subtropical seas, including the Mediterranean Sea, where the Sparisoma cretense species is found (and for some years, in the eastern part, also the Scarus ghobban species, a Lessepsian migrant which entered from the Red Sea through the Suez Canal) .
They live in coastal waters, mainly near coral reefs.
An unmistakable characteristic of the fish of this family are the teeth fused to form a robust beak similar to that of parrots. Other teeth are placed on the pharynx. The body is quite stocky and has a cylindrical section, similar to that of wrasses. The scales are large. The dorsal fin is unique, about half composed of spiny rays. The caudal fin often has two small pointed lobes.
The colors are usually very bright and vary between sexes and life stages, complicating the classification quite a bit.
The dimensions are varied, the largest species is Bolbometopon muricatum from the Indo-Pacific which reaches 130 cm.
Some species produce a protective mucous sac inside which they spend the night.
These fish feed on encrusting algae and coral polyps of the epi- and infauna (some are therefore coral-eating). When feeding, these fish grind large quantities of rock and coral which pass through the digestive tract and exit from the anus in the form of very fine sand. Scaridae are among the most efficient agents of coral reef erosion.
The eggs are pelagic. These fish are subject to sex change, but only in about half of individuals.
They have a certain importance in the commercial fishing of many tropical areas.
Despite their splendid colors and the suitable size of different species, these fish are not common in domestic aquariums because they require large quantities of live corals and fresh encrusting algae as food, which are very difficult to find.
The beaches of the tropical seas with the typical very fine white sand, almost as if it were flour, are due precisely to the enormous work that the parrot fish does in scraping the corals.