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).
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal.
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 2025-1)
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).
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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);
