Scaridae
Also known as parrotfish
Parrotfish (named because their mouths resemble a parrot's beak) are a clade (a fundamental grouping in evolutionary biology consisting of a single common ancestor and all of its descendants) of fish placed in the subfamily Scarinae of the wrasse family (Labridae). Formerly treated as their own family (Scaridae), genetic studies found them to be deeply nested within the wrasses, and they are now treated as a subfamily (Scarinae). With roughly 95 species, the group's largest species richness is in the Indo-Pacific. They are found in coral reefs, rocky coasts, and seagrass beds, and can play a s
AI overview
Scaridae is a group of colorful reef fish commonly called parrotfish, named for their distinctive beak-like mouths that resemble a parrot's beak. Though once classified as their own family, genetic research revealed that the roughly 95 species of parrotfish are actually a subfamily within the wrasse family, and they play an important role in coral reef ecosystems across the Indo-Pacific region.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Species
parrotfishes
Scaridae
FAMILY
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassTeleostei
- OrderPerciformes
- FamilyScaridae
Habitatmarine, brackish
The parrotfishes are abundant around Caribbean coral reefs, especially in beds of seagrass or macroalgae. They are typically the predominant vertebrate herbivores on and off of the reef. The taxonomy of scarids in the region is relatively simple: there are four genera, but virtually all of the species belong to two large genera Scarus and Sparisoma. The two remaining species comprise the monotypic Cryptotomus roseus and Nicholsina usta, the latter with a sibling species in the eastern Pacific.Larval scarids share most of their basic features with their labrid relatives, such as long and continuous dorsal and anal fins with slender spines, a relatively wide caudal peduncle, stub-like pelvic fins, a pointed snout and small terminal mouth, typically light markings and no spines on the head. They can be separated from larval labrids by having a row of melanophores along or beneath the base of the anal fin, typically extending into the caudal peduncle. A number of similar-appearing families share the anal-fin row of melanophores, but have many more dorsal and anal-fin elements, usually twice as many in larval labrisomids, chaenopsids, tripterygiids, and dactyloscopids. The latter group
via GBIF
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Article
12 sectionsContents
- Taxonomy
- Description
- Protective mucus
- Feeding
- Life cycle
- Sex change
- Economic importance
- Gallery
- Timeline of genera
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Parrotfish (named because their mouths resemble a parrot's beak) are a clade (a fundamental grouping in evolutionary biology consisting of a single common ancestor and all of its descendants) of fish placed in the subfamily Scarinae of the wrasse family (Labridae). Formerly treated as their own family (Scaridae), genetic studies found them to be deeply nested within the wrasses, and they are now treated as a subfamily (Scarinae). With roughly 95 species, the group's largest species richness is in the Indo-Pacific. They are found in coral reefs, rocky coasts, and seagrass beds, and can play a significant role in bioerosion because they eat away at the corals. This activity is also often attributed to enriching the sand content on the surrounding ocean floor.
==Taxonomy== Traditionally, the parrotfishes have been considered to be a family level taxon, Scaridae. Although phylogenetic and evolutionary analyses of parrotfish are ongoing, they are now accepted to be a clade in the wrasses closely related to the tribe Cheilini, and are now commonly referred to as scarine labrids (tribe Scarini, family Labridae). Some authorities have preferred to maintain the parrotfishes as a family-level taxon, resulting in Labridae not being monophyletic (unless split into several families).