Definition of parrotfish in English:
parrotfish
nounPlural parrotfishes ˈparətfɪʃˈpɛrətˌfɪʃ
1Any of a number of brightly coloured marine fish with a parrot-like beak, which they use to scrape food from coral and other hard surfaces.
a widespread fish of warm seas which may secrete a mucous cocoon to deter predators (family Scaridae: Scarus and other genera).
an edible fish of the southern Indian ocean (Oplegnathus conwayi, family Oplegnathidae).
Example sentencesExamples
- Amid the coral and sponge branches you will find hamlets, basslets, parrotfish and moray eels.
- They also learned at least one species, the rainbow parrotfish, depends on mangroves for its very survival.
- As parrotfish graze they scrape away minute bits of white coral limestone along with the algae covering.
- The oldest fossils of parrotfishes, including one eroding species, are all of Miocene age.
- I eyed a buxom coral trout with blue spots on a pink background - they make good eating - and listened to the parrotfish gnawing the coral.
2Australian NZ A brightly coloured marine fish, especially one of the wrasse family.
Several species in the family Labridae
Example sentencesExamples
- Parrotfishes have traditionally been given their own family but current phylogenetic data suggest that parrotfishes are one radiation within the Labridae.
- Off Byron the parrotfish and nice size squire and snapper are appearing.
- Outside of Ballina there have been some nice catches of pearl perch and parrotfish; while off Evans Head there have been some nice catches of snapper.
Definition of parrotfish in US English:
parrotfish
nounˈpɛrətˌfɪʃˈperətˌfiSH
1Any of a number of brightly colored marine fish with a parrot-like beak, which they use to scrape food from coral and other hard surfaces.
a widespread fish of warm seas that may secrete a mucous cocoon to deter predators (family Scaridae: Scarus and other genera)
an edible fish of the southern Indian ocean (Oplegnathus conwayi, family Oplegnathidae)
Example sentencesExamples
- The oldest fossils of parrotfishes, including one eroding species, are all of Miocene age.
- Amid the coral and sponge branches you will find hamlets, basslets, parrotfish and moray eels.
- I eyed a buxom coral trout with blue spots on a pink background - they make good eating - and listened to the parrotfish gnawing the coral.
- As parrotfish graze they scrape away minute bits of white coral limestone along with the algae covering.
- They also learned at least one species, the rainbow parrotfish, depends on mangroves for its very survival.
2Australian NZ A brightly colored marine fish, especially one of the wrasse family.
Several species in the family Labridae
Example sentencesExamples
- Parrotfishes have traditionally been given their own family but current phylogenetic data suggest that parrotfishes are one radiation within the Labridae.
- Outside of Ballina there have been some nice catches of pearl perch and parrotfish; while off Evans Head there have been some nice catches of snapper.
- Off Byron the parrotfish and nice size squire and snapper are appearing.