The scarus is found in some medieval encyclopedias. It is a clever fish that can escape traps. It is the only fish that ruminates its food.

In modern taxonomy, Scarus is a genus of parrotfish in the Scaridae family. They are mostly tropical fish, but one species is found in the Mediterranean. The wrasse (as scarus is translated by Rackham, from Pliny the Elder), is a similar fish of another genus in the Scaridae family.