17th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Smile!

Parrotfish have superstrong fused teeth plates. They use them to feed on algae and live polyp tissue which they scrape off the surface of hard corals. They also ingest some off the coral skeleton and release it in the form of fine white sand.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 03.2018
Date Uploaded: 11.2019
Photo Location: Maldives
Camera: DMC-GH4
Copyright: © Joerg Blessing