Teleostei (teleosts) >
Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) >
Scaridae (Parrotfishes) > Sparisomatinae
Etymology: Sparisoma: Latin, sparus = a fish with a golden head + Greek, soma = body (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Poey.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 20 - 55 m (Ref. 9710). Tropical; 32°N -
Western Atlantic: Bermuda, southern Florida (USA), and Bahamas to northern South America.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 25.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26340)
Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 9. Initial phase olive-brown, finely mottled with pale pink, with whitish stripes (most evident on ventral half of body); one changeable color phase with a broad dark stripe from snout, enclosing eye, and passing along upper side; terminal males with a broad band of olive or red on upper side, finely flecked with other colors, the ventral half with iridescent light blue-green and wavy orange stripes; a bright green blotch as large as eye on shoulder region behind upper end of gill opening, sometimes containing one or two deep blue spots (Ref. 13442).
Inhabits deep rocky and coral reefs with steep walls (Ref. 9710). Generally seen in seagrass beds or on reefs with thick algal cover (Ref. 13442). A protogynous hermaphrodite (Ref. 55367).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
A monandric species (Ref. 55367). Forms harem groups composed of a single male and several smaller females (Ref. 55398). Length at sex change = 5.5 cm TL (Ref. 55367).
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray, 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p. (Ref. 7251)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 22.6 - 27.6, mean 26 °C (based on 55 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01122 (0.00535 - 0.02352), b=3.09 (2.92 - 3.26), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 2.0 ±0.00 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (15 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 93.3 [53.4, 203.9] mg/100g; Iron = 1.17 [0.60, 2.03] mg/100g; Protein = 18.3 [16.0, 20.8] %; Omega3 = 0.113 [0.059, 0.226] g/100g; Selenium = 56.3 [26.9, 121.7] μg/100g; VitaminA = 26.1 [7.1, 103.8] μg/100g; Zinc = 2.37 [1.55, 3.74] mg/100g (wet weight);
