Maui's Parrotfish

I remember the first time I snorkeled, almost 30 years ago, in the Caribbean, and being struck by the beauty and colors of the fish on the coral reefs. No species stood out more than the parrotfish, with its pastel shades of pinks, blues and greens that seemed more fitting in an Easter basket than in an underwater habitat.

While just recently snorkeling in Maui, I was able to reacquaint with the parrotfish's Pacific cousins, who are just as colorful and exotic as the ones I met so long ago. And with descriptive names like stareye, redlip, bullethead and palenose, how could an encounter not be an adventure?

Bullethead parrotfish.

Palenose parrotfish.

The parrotfish is related to the wrasse. Shown above is the Christmas wrasse, glowing brightly in the foreground. Behind is the much larger stareye parrotfish, with a whitemouth moray to the left.