Sparisoma radians
Bucktooth 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 radians (Bucktooth 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, single row of cheek scales, dorsal and ventral profiles rounded, snout moderately steep, interorbital space rather flat to slightly convex, nares close set, anterior naris with fleshy flap on posterior margin, tooth plates scalloped, gill rakers on first arch number 10 to 13 in adults, measurements (% SL): head length 32%–36%, snout length 9%–13%, eye diameter 6%–8%, upper jaw length 8%–10%, pectoral fin length 19%–21%, body depth 33%–42%, pectoral fin with 13 rays, membranes behind dorsal fin spines extended into cirri, caudal fin slightly convex, body, much of head, and bases of dorsal, anal, and caudal fins covered with scales, predorsal midrow scales number four, two midventral scales located posterior to origin of pelvic fins
Color in life is olivaceous to yellowish brown dorsally, with many pale spots, bluish green opercular margin, and bluish green bar on pectoral fin base; terminal males are greenish brown, with faint pale dots or reticular pattern, diagonal blue and orange band from corner of mouth to behind eye, irregular orangish red markings on operculum, blackish bar on pectoral fin base, and blackish posterior margin on caudal fin
Distribution
Western Atlantic from southern Florida and Bermuda to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Antilles
In the Gulf of Mexico, it occurs off Alabama, the southwestern coast of Florida, Veracruz, and Campeche
Habitat Associations
Associated with sea-grass beds
Biology
Maximum known size is 200 mm TL
Mostly found in seagrass beds in shallow, protected waters. Feeds primarily on epiphytes and seagrass blades, leaving crescent bite marks. Darts into seagrass when frightened (Ref. 9710).
Reproductive mode: protogyny; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2008-06-13. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of potential interest; aquarium: commercial.
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941
Schultz 1958a
Randall 1965a
Randall 1968a
Randall 1996
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Hastings 1979
Castro-Aguirre and Márquez-Espinoza 1981
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Vega-Cendejas 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.
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 Sparisoma radians