Chlorurus japanensis (Bloch, 1789)
Palecheek parrotfish, 31cm

While we personally had never seen this parrotfish, Jay Lord came across a couple of individuals in the shallow spur and groove system on the atoll's eastern seaward reef. This area is exposed to the tradewinds and is too rough to explore most of the year, which probably explains why this parrot is so rarely seen in the Marshalls. Both of the fish Jay spotted were wary of divers and would not let him close. The photo below was enlarged from a distant shot, but there are enough details to confirm the record.

Created 20 August 2019

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