Scarus vetula
Queen 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 vetula (Queen 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.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Four rows of cheek scales; jaw teeth fused to form beaklike plates; dorsal and ventral profiles rounded; snout moderately steep in small specimens and slightly steeper in large specimens; nares close set; anterior naris with a short flap on posterior margin; tooth plate of upper jaw slightly overlaps that of lower jaw; outer gill rakers on first arch 50-62; inner gill rakers 71-84; head length 34%-37% SL; snout length 12%-15% SL; eye diameter 5%-7% SL; upper jaw length 8%-9% SL; pectoral fin length 22%-27% SL; body depth 33%-38% SL; pectoral fin with 14 or (rarely) 15 rays; caudal fin truncate in juveniles and small adults but double emarginate in large adults; body, much of head, and bases of dorsal, anal, and caudal fins covered with scales; predorsal midrow scales number seven
Reddish to purplish brown with a broad white stripe on lower flank; terminal males bluish green with reddish orange on edges of scales, alternating bands of orange and blue green on snout and chin, and submarginal orange bands on caudal fin
Distribution
Western Atlantic from southern Florida and Bermuda to Venezuela, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles
In the Gulf of Mexico, it occurs along the southwestern coast of Florida, the Flower Garden Banks, and Veracruz
Habitat Associations
Coral reefs in shallow water
Biology
Benthic algae and sea grasses
Maximum known size is 550 mm TL
Inhabits coral reefs and adjacent habitats. Feeds on algae scraped from rocks or dead coral. Sleeps in a mucus cocoon (Ref. 9710). Often seen in groups of one super male with several young adults, most of which are probably females (Ref. 26938). A protogynous hermaphrodite (Ref. 55367).
Reproductive mode: protogyny; fertilization: external; mating system: polygyny; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Forms permanent harem groups composed of a single male and several smaller females (Ref. 55367). A monandric species (Ref. 55367). Length at sex change = 25.2 cm TL (Ref. 55367).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2009-09-15. Resilience: High (K=0.6).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: commercial.
References
Schultz 1958a
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Randall 1968a
Randall 1996
Bright and Cashman 1974
Robins and Ray 1986
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Hoese and Moore 1998
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.
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.
Allsop, D.J. and S.A. West (2003) Constant relative age and size at sex change for sequentially hermaphroditic fish. J. Evol. Biol. 16(2003):921-929.
Comments On Scarus vetula