I was scrolling innocently through YouTube recently when I spotted a fact that changed how I view beaches forever.
In an interview with WIRED, marine biologist Dr. Kory Evans responded to a question about how white and brown sand differ.
“White sand is generally derived from the shells of other animals. Shells get broken down either via wave action or via animal feeding,” he shared, while brown sand is typically eroded rocks. So far, so reasonable.
Then, came the colorectal truth bomb ― “Most white sand comes from a very unlikely source ― and that is parrotfishes.”
What do fish have to do with it?
They poop out the sand.
THEY POOP OUT THE SAND.
Dr. Evans shared in the video that after feeding on coral skeletons, the fish excrete sand ― up to 450kg of poop-sand per giant, beaked fish.
The Natural History Museum adds that there are about 100 species of parrotfish, and have constantly-growing, beak-like teeth on the front of their face that grind down their food.
The pharyngeal jaws they keep at the back of their throat grind the coral, skeletons, and algae they eat down before it passes through their system ― meaning their incoming food is pretty sand-like.
“For parrotfish, the fine sand they mill with their pharyngeal jaws is excreted and becomes material that forms the seafloor, providing an important habitat for marine animals, as well as becoming part of the beaches we enjoy,” the Natural History Museum adds.
In the Caribbean and Hawaii, they add, parrotfish poop may account for up to 70% of beautiful white sand,
The more I think about it, the more okay with it I am
You can probably understand why I was so spooked by the news at the beginning.
But now I think about it, I’m not worried about worms, who process soil by grabbing food with their throat, coating it with their saliva, crushing it in their gizzard, and pooping it into my lawn.
So, here’s to parrotfish ― and their ever-giving digestive systems.