Scarus taeniopterus
Princess Parrotfish
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GNR
Collection Details
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Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Scaridae (Parrotfishes)
Scarus
Scarus taeniopterus (Princess Parrotfish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
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Characters
Seven scales in series below eye; jaw teeth fused to form beaklike plates; dorsal and ventral profiles rounded; snout moderately steep in small specimens, slightly steeper in large specimens; nares close set; anterior naris with short flap on posterior margin; tooth plate of upper jaw slightly overlaps lower jaw; gill membranes connected and joined to isthmus; outer gill rakers on first arch 40-52, inner gill rakers 54-67; measurements (% SL): head length 32%-34%, snout length 12%-13%, eye diameter 5%-6%, upper jaw length 7%-8%, pectoral fin length 22%-23%, body depth 34%-38%; pectoral fin with 13 or 14 rays; caudal fin truncate to slightly convex; body, much of head, and bases of dorsal, anal, and caudal fins covered with scales; cheek with three rows of scales, usually seven (rarely eight) in uppermost row and usually two or three in lowermost row; predorsal midrow scales number seven or (rarely) six
Tan with dark brown stripes from nape to caudal peduncle, from eye or margin of operculum to caudal peduncle, and from pectoral fin base to caudal peduncle; stripes distinct on head, especially anterior to eye; pale stripes between upper two dark stripes meet on snout to form V; upper and lower margins of caudal fin dark; large terminal males blue green to orange with two blue green stripes running diagonally from anterior flank through upper and lower margins of eye and to anterior margin of snout; median fins solid orange with blue medial and distal borders; caudal fin blue with orange upper and lower margins
Distribution
Western Atlantic from southern Florida and Bermuda to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Antilles
Northern and southern Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Coral reefs; schools with S. iseri
Biology
Algae and coral polyps
Maximum known size 330 mm TL
Found on bottoms with coral or rock (Ref. 13628). Juveniles often occur in association with Thalassia. Forms large feeding aggregations and feeds on plants. Sleeps in a mucus cocoon (Ref. 9710).
Reproductive mode: protogyny; fertilization: external; mating system: monogamy; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2009-09-17. Resilience: Medium (K=0.32; tm=1.5; tmax=11).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: commercial.
References
Schultz 1958a (as S. croicensis, in part)
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Randall 1963a
Randall 1968a
Randall 1996
Bright and Cashman 1974
Sonnier et al. 1976
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Robins and Ray 1986
Castro-Aguirre and Márquez-Espinoza 1981
Boschung 1992
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
Westneat 2002b
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
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.
Lieske, E. and R. Myers (1994) Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400 p.
Randall, J.E. (1996) Caribbean reef fishes. Third Edition - revised and enlarged. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong. 3nd ed. 368 p.
Cervigón, F. (1994) Los peces marinos de Venezuela. Volume 3. Fundación Científica Los Roques, Caracas,Venezuela. 295 p.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
Robertson, D.R. and R.R. Warner (1978) Sexual patterns in the labroid fishes of the western Caribbean II: the parrotfishes (Scaridae). Smith. Contr. Zool. 255:1-26.
Comments On Scarus taeniopterus