Lanai Lookout, Oahu, 40 feet

Male, Hanauma Bay, Oahu, 25 feet

Male, Hanauma Bay, Oahu, 25 feet

Bite marks on dead coral

Female, YO-257, Oahu, 75 feet

Female, Hanauma Bay, Oahu, 25 feet

Male, Kailua Bay, Hawaii, 15 feet

Juvenile with black spot on peduncle

Juveniles, Moku o Loe, Kaneohe, 3 feet

Common on shallow reefs where it feeds upon coralline algae.  Head blunt but angular with smooth fused jaws and a square tail.  Females reddish brown with two rows of white dots, orange marks on the head, dark fins, and a pale band ahead of the tail with a large brown spot.  Males variable, blue or green with a yellow or orange center and blue fins.  Juveniles dark with four pale stripes.  Attains 16 inches.  Indonesia to Hawaii and Pitcairn Island.  Replaced by Chlorurus sordidus in the Indian Ocean.  Scarus sordidus is a synonym.