Fish
Starry-eye Parrotfish
Calotomus carolinus
A parrotfish with incisor-like teeth rather than a solid beak, the terminal males wearing salmon-pink 'star' bands radiating from the eye.
Also known as kersfees
- Typical size
- Attains 54 cm
- Habitat
- Coral reefs
The starry-eye parrotfish has pointed, overlapping incisor-like teeth instead of a fully fused beak, with one or two curved canines at the rear of the upper jaw in adults. Initial-phase fish are greyish to reddish brown with fine whitish scale markings; terminal males mix bluish green and reddish brown, their heads bluish green with salmon bands radiating from the eye. It reaches about 54 cm.
It ranges from the eastern Pacific across to Natal, though it is absent from the Red Sea.