Sparisoma viride
Stoplight 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 viride (Stoplight 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; opercular margin white or dark; dorsal and ventral profiles rounded; snout moderately steep; interorbital space slightly convex; nares close set; anterior naris with membranous flap on posterior margin subdivided into four to seven cirri; upper and lower tooth plates with scalloped biting surfaces; lower tooth plate slightly overlaps upper jaw; curved canine teeth on dental plate of upper jaw in large specimens; gill rakers on first arch number 17 to 21 in adults; head length 34%–37% SL; snout length 11%–17% SL; eye diameter 6%–9% SL; upper jaw length 8%–12% SL; pectoral fin length 24%–28% SL; body depth 38%–43% SL; pectoral fin with 13 rays; membranes behind dorsal fin spines extended into filaments; caudal fin truncate in juveniles, emarginate in small adults, and lunate in large adults; body, much of head, and bases of dorsal, anal, and caudal fins covered with scales; cheek with single row of scales; predorsal midrow scales number four
Dark brown dorsally and bright red ventrally with three rows of white spots on flank and a broad white bar on base of caudal fin; terminal males green with three diagonal yellowish orange bands on head, a yellowish orange margin and a yellow spot on operculum, a large yellow spot on base of caudal fin, and a narrow crescent near margin of caudal fin
Distribution
Western Atlantic from southern Florida and Bermuda to Brazil, including the entire Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Antilles
Habitat Associations
Shallow water, associated with coral reefs
Juveniles found in sea-grass beds
Biology
Food consists of benthic vegetation
Maximum known size is 640 mm TL
Inhabits coral reefs with clear water (Ref. 13628). Young may be found in seagrass beds and other heavily vegetated bottoms. Feeds mainly on soft algae, but has been observed to graze on live corals like, Montastraea annularis (Ref. 6496). Produces a significant amount of sediment through bioerosion using its strong beak-like jaws and constantly re-growing teeth (Ref. 6485). Protogynous; strictly diurnal, spends the night sleeping on the bottom (Ref. 5221). Found singly or small in small groups.
Reproductive mode: protogyny; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. The type of reproductive behavior is related to the color phase of the males involved.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2009-09-15. Resilience: Medium (tmax=9; k >0.30).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: commercial.
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941
Schultz 1958a
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Randall 1968a, 1996
Bright and Cashman 1974
Sonnier et al. 1976
Hoese and Moore 1977, 1998
Hastings 1979
Robins and Ray 1986
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.
Reeson, P.H. (1983) The biology, ecology and bionomics of the parrotfishes, Scaridae. p. 166-177. In J.L. Munro (ed.) Caribbean coral reef fishery resources.ICLARM Stud. Rev. 7.
Randall, J.E. (1978) Scaridae. In W. Fischer (ed.) FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Western Central Atlantic (Fishing Area 31). Vol. 4. pag.var.
Cervigón, F., R. Cipriani, W. Fischer, L. Garibaldi, M. Hendrickx, A.J. Lemus, R. Márquez, J.M. Poutiers, G. Robaina and B. Rodriguez (1992) Fichas FAO de identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca. Guía de campo de las especies comerciales marinas y de aquas salobres de la costa septentrional de Sur América. FAO, Rome. 513 p. Preparado con el financiamento de la Comisión de Comunidades Europeas y de NORAD.
Lieske, E. and R. Myers (1994) Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400 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.
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