Common Name: Whitespot Parrotfish

Distribution: Uncommon in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the East Indian and Pacific Ocean region: from Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean to the Pitcairn group. In Australia recorded from the Rowley Shoals and Ashmore reef in the Timor Sea and the Coral Sea and Great Barrier Reef in Queensland south to the Keppel Group and Capricorn Bunker reefs. Also recorded from Lord Howe Island.

Ecological Notes: Frequents exposed outer reefs and lagoons, usually in rich coral habitats. Depth 3 – 30 m.

Additional Notes: Juvenile as pictured here, brown dorsally, pale ventrally with two white stripes and several white spots towards rear of body. Feeds on benthic algae, distinct pairing during breeding. Juvenile pictured here, approximately 50 mm long, grows to 55 cm.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.347.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=scarus+forsteni. Accessed 07/07/18.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/Scarus-forsteni.html. Accessed 07/07/18.