Sparisoma atomarium
Greenblotch Parrotfish
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Scaridae (Parrotfishes)
Sparisoma
Sparisoma atomarium (Greenblotch 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
Jaw teeth fused to form beaklike plates, one to several canine teeth in upper jaw, and a single row of cheek scales. Dorsal and ventral profiles are rounded. Snout is moderately steep, and interorbital space is rather flat to slightly convex. Nares are close set, and anterior naris has a fleshy flap on posterior margin that is simple and ribbonlike. Tooth plate of lower jaw slightly overlaps that of upper jaw, and one to four curved canine teeth are located on dental plate of upper jaw in specimens greater than 25 mm SL. Gill rakers on first arch number 12 to 16 in adults. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 33%–35%, snout length 9%–11%, eye diameter 9%–10%, pectoral fin length 23%–26%, body depth 33%–37%. Pectoral fin has 13 rays. Membranes behind dorsal fin spines are extended into cirri. Caudal fin is slightly convex. Body, much of head, and bases of dorsal, anal, and caudal fins are covered with scales. Predorsal midrow scales number four. One midventral scale is located posterior to origin of pelvic fins.
In life, upper two-thirds of body is salmon, and lower one-third is pale bluish with two irregular salmon stripes. A large, squarish green blotch with two deep blue spots occurs below lateral line immediately behind operculum. Dorsal fin has a small dark spot between first two spines, and remainder of dorsal and anal fins are mottled yellowish orange. Caudal fin is pink, with irregular yellow markings. In preservative, large males are light yellowish tan and slightly darker dorsally, with a dark blotch behind opercular opening, followed by five or six faint dark spots. Females and smaller males are pale yellowish tan, with a large dark blotch above and slightly behind pectoral fin base. Snout may be patterned with small dark spots or lines.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from the Florida Keys and Bermuda to Honduras, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles.
Occurs in the northern Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Coral reefs and sea-grass beds, between 17 and 77 m
Biology
Maximum known size is 81 mm SL
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).
Reproductive mode: protogyny; fertilization: external; mating system: polygyny; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. 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).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2009-09-15. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial.
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941 (as S. radians, in part)
Schultz 1958a (as S. radians, in part)
Randall 1965a
Randall 1996
Williams and Shipp 1980
Robins and Ray 1986
Dennis and Bright 1988a
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
Westneat 2002b
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.
Claro, R. (1994) Características generales de la ictiofauna. p. 55-70. In R. Claro (ed.) Ecología de los peces marinos de Cuba. Instituto de Oceanología Academia de Ciencias de Cuba and Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo.
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 Sparisoma atomarium