Sparisoma

Sparisoma is a genus of parrotfishes native to warmer parts of the Atlantic. FishBase recognizes 15 species in this genus,[4] including S. rocha described from Trindade Island in 2010[5] and S. choati described from the East Atlantic in 2012.[6] They are the main grazers of algae in the Caribbean since sea urchins, the former main grazers, experienced a mass extinction and were supplanted by the parrotfishes.

Sparisoma
Temporal range: 44–0 Ma Middle Eocene to Present[1]
Sparisoma viride
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Labriformes
Family: Scaridae
Genus: Sparisoma
Swainson, 1839
Type species
Scarus abildgaardi
Bloch, 1791[2]
Species

See text.

Synonyms[3]

The name was proposed by William John Swainson as a subgenus of Scarus. Sparus in Latin is a golden-headed fish, and soma means "body". The common spelling Sparisomus is incorrect.

The size of parrotfishes of this genus range from the rather small-sized S. radians with a known maximum length of 20 cm (7.9 in) to the large S. viride, which reaches lengths of up to 64 cm (25 in).

Members of this genus are sequential hermaphrodites, starting as females (known as the initial phase) and then changing to males (the terminal phase). However, some males are direct-developing, and these usually resemble the initial phase. These direct-developing and terminal phase males often display different mating strategies. In most species, the terminal phase is more colourful than the initial, but a notable exception to this rule is S. cretense. They use their pectoral fins to move; the caudal fin is reserved for rapid bursts of speed.

The genus Sparisoma is fairly successful, but populations have been falling somewhat because of overfishing and other human activities. However, as mentioned above, it is the main grazer of algae, but since populations have been falling, the coral reefs may be at risk, because too much algae is deleterious to coral.

Species

Type species

William John Swainson described the genus Sparisoma in 1839 and he designated Sparus abildgaardi as its type species,[2] Although the specific name abildgaardi would appear to have precedence over chrysopterum, the latter is the more widely used name and the former was long mistakenly thought to be synonymous with Sparisoma viride.[7] The name Sparus abildgaardi was suppressed by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature and Scarus chrysopterus was recognised as the type species.[8]

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References
  1. Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
  2. Eschmeyer, W. N.; R. Fricke & R. van der Laan (eds.). "Sparisoma". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  3. Eschmeyer, W. N.; R. Fricke & R. van der Laan (eds.). "Scaridae genera". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  4. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2012). Species of Sparisoma in FishBase. February 2012 version.
  5. Pinheiro, H. T., J. L. Gasparini & I. Sazima (2010). Sparisoma rocha, a new species of parrotfish (Actinopterygii: Labridae) from Trindade Island, South-western Atlantic. Zootaxa 2493: 59–65.
  6. Rocha, Brito, and Robertson (2012). Sparisoma choati, a new species of Parrotfish (Labirdae: Scarinae) from the tropical eastern Atlantic. Zootaxa, 3152: 61-67.
  7. Parenti, P.; J. E. Randall (2000). "An annotated checklist of the species of the Labroid fish families Labridae and Scaridae" (PDF). Ichthyological Bulletin of the J. L. B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology (68): 1–97.
  8. J.D.D. Smith (2001). Official Lists and Indexes of Names and Works in Zoology Supplement 1986-2000. The International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature. ISBN 0853010072.
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