Rainbow parrotfish observed in Bermuda
Parrotfish Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia All Parrotfish are members of the Scaridae family. Currently 80 species have been identified,
Phylum: Chordata twelve of which have been identified living in the waters surrounding Bermuda.
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Scaridae
Initial Phase Stoplight
Parrotfish
Supermale Stoplight Parrotfish
The Supermale is a male terminal phase parrotfish that leads a "harem" of female parrotfish in a school. If the supermale dies, the largest female in the group changes sex to become male and also assumes the colors of the supermale.
Why are they called "Parrot"fish?
Most of the Scaridae fishes go through three unique phases of life throughout its lifetime, averaging approximately five years. The first stage is the juvenile phase lasting from birth until the fish reaches the initial phase. This is a phase of sexual maturation and the fish is able to change its sex during this stage. As the fish ages, it enters the terminal phase, aquiring its final sex at this time. The fish is fully colored by this point. Because of the complete color spectrum change between sexes and between phases, it was thought that the Scaridae family actually had many more species than are currently believed to exist. The ease in which the parrotfish switches between male and female and between drably colored and radiantly colored makes it incredibly difficult to identify the species of the fish.
Stoplight Parrotfish - Sparisoma Viride
I chose to work with two specific species of the Scaridae family, both of which I saw often at both Tobacco Bay and Whalebone Bay. One
of these species was the Stoplight parrotfish, a beautiful fish that has a wide range of colors. The dully colored fish in the image below is a female or a primary male.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: ChordataKingdom: Animalia All Parrotfish are members of the Scaridae family. Currently 80 species have been identified,
Phylum: Chordata twelve of which have been identified living in the waters surrounding Bermuda.
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Scaridae
Parrotfish are
unique in that they have the ability to change their sex throughout
their lifetime. Primary males are fish that are born male and stay male
throughout their life, while secondary males are males that are born
female and become male when they reach sexual maturity. These males
have the brightly colored coloration in part for which the Parrotfish
owe their name. The primary males and females are much less brightly
colored and are often very difficult to tell apart.
The Supermale is a male terminal phase parrotfish that leads a "harem" of female parrotfish in a school. If the supermale dies, the largest female in the group changes sex to become male and also assumes the colors of the supermale.
Why are they called "Parrot"fish?
As
described above, Parrotfish are often sought after because of their
beautiful coloration, as seen below. This is an example of the
secondary male. The beautiful patterns of the secondary males are often
compared to those of the tropical Parrot.
Parrotfish
also have a very unique feature resembling a beak (like that of the
Parrot) that allows them to scrape their primary food source, algae,
off of the hard substrates (both rock and coral) on which the algae is
found. This beak is part of their jaw, formed by fused teeth. Stages of Life
Most of the Scaridae fishes go through three unique phases of life throughout its lifetime, averaging approximately five years. The first stage is the juvenile phase lasting from birth until the fish reaches the initial phase. This is a phase of sexual maturation and the fish is able to change its sex during this stage. As the fish ages, it enters the terminal phase, aquiring its final sex at this time. The fish is fully colored by this point. Because of the complete color spectrum change between sexes and between phases, it was thought that the Scaridae family actually had many more species than are currently believed to exist. The ease in which the parrotfish switches between male and female and between drably colored and radiantly colored makes it incredibly difficult to identify the species of the fish.
Stoplight Parrotfish - Sparisoma Viride
I chose to work with two specific species of the Scaridae family, both of which I saw often at both Tobacco Bay and Whalebone Bay. One
of these species was the Stoplight parrotfish, a beautiful fish that has a wide range of colors. The dully colored fish in the image below is a female or a primary male.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes Rainbow Parrotfish - Scarus guacamaia
Family: Scaridae The second fish I chose was the rainbow parrotfish, one of the larger
Genus: Sparisoma species of parrotfish.
Species: Viride
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes Rainbow Parrotfish - Scarus guacamaia
Family: Scaridae The second fish I chose was the rainbow parrotfish, one of the larger
Genus: Sparisoma species of parrotfish.
Species: Viride
Class: Actinpterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Scaridae
Genus: Scarus
Species: Guacamaia
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