This species is endemic to the southwestern Atlantic Ocean, such as in the Brazilian waters, and occurs at depths from 1–60 m with a temperature range of 24-28 °C. Scarus zelindae and Scarus trispinosus are the only parrotfish species that are endemic to the Southwestern Atlantic. It is hypothesized that the Zelindae species diverged 1.0 Mya from the Taeniopterusl parrotfish species in Brazi due to the Amazon River outflow causing isolation. Terminal phase Zelindae are commonly found in coral and rocky reefs that are deeper in the ocean and further from the coast. Juveniles, on the other hand, are located in a nursery habitat in more shallow reefs near the coast. Some specific habitat locations with a high Scarus zelindae biomass are the fire coral colonies of the Aborlhos Bank and the Davies Bank. This is due to these habitats having a high amount of cyanobacteria on the sponges and corals which is an important source of nutrients for parrotfish.
