【Reading】あおぶだい

【English Name】Knobsnout parrotfish

Aobudai (knobsnout parrotfish) is a saltwater fish of the genus Scarus of the family Scaridae (scientific name Scarus ovifrons, described by Temminck and Schlegel in 1846). It reaches a maximum total length of about 90 cm, with a strongly bluish body color; in mature individuals the forehead protrudes in a lump shape, and the teeth are beak-shaped with strong bite force. It inhabits rocky reefs and coral reefs of the western Pacific from Tokyo Bay and the area around the Korean Peninsula to the Philippines, and is also seen in temperate seas. It is omnivorous, feeding on algae, crustaceans, and shellfish. As a sushi neta it is hardly distributed. By eating zoanthids, palytoxin-like toxin accumulates in the body, and eating the internal organs in particular is dangerous. Since 1953, seven deaths have been recorded; the toxin is not broken down by heating or salt-curing, and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare requests voluntary restraint on its sale.