Parrotfish

Parrotfish are distant relatives of Wrasses. The main difference is that in Parrotfish, the teeth have been fused together to form a sort of 'beak'. This, together with their often colorful appearance, is why the're called Parrotfish. The hard beak is used to scrape algae off rocks and bite into hard corals as well. The rock and coral is ground up and passes through the fish's digestive system, contributing a major portion of the sand and sediment to reefs.

A male Parrotfish - probably a Redlip Parrotfish - Photographed around the Maldives

Another thing that Parrotfish have in common with birds is that females are generally less coloful than the males. Unlike birds, but in common with many reef fish, the Parrotfish goes through a female to male transformation at some point in their life.

A female Parrotfish - Photographed around the Maldives

Please note: Identification of fish, corals, etc. is a tricky business. It's entirely possible that I've incorrectly identified a photo I've taken. If you spot an error, please contact me so I can correct it and improve this resource.