Teleostei (teleosts) >
Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) >
Scaridae (Parrotfishes) > Sparisomatinae
Etymology: Sparisoma: Latin, sparus = a fish with a golden head + Greek, soma = body (Ref. 45335); choati: Named for J. Howard Choat, in recognition of his extensive scientific work on parrotfishes. During his lengthy and productive career, Howard has made many significant contributions to our knowledge of parrotfish taxonomy, ecology, reproductive biology, demography, evolution and historical biogeography.
Eponymy: Dr John Howard Choat is Professor Emeritus of Marine Biology at the School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Queensland, Australia. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 2 - 30 m (Ref. 88982). Tropical; 23°N - 21°N, 6°E - 7°E
Eastern Atlantic: from Cape Verde islands and Senegal south to the offshore islands of the Gulf of Guinea and northern Angola.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 31.4 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 88982)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 9. This species is distinguished from all of its congeners by the following set of characters: D IX,10; A III,9; pectoral rays 12-13 (rarely 13); pelvic rays I,5; lateral line scales 23-26; gill rakers on first arch 11 to 14; Initial phase of individuals and females greyish brown to greyish red, with chin and belly paler and reddish brown scales irregularly distributed singly or in clusters along flanks; pectoral fin translucent red with a dark red to black spot on upper fourth of its base. Terminal phase of individuals with brownish red head and upper half of anterior two-thirds of body; ventral portion of central third of body yellowish green; posterior third of body dark greenish grey; black spot on upper fifth of pectoral fin base (Ref. 88982).
Occurs in rocky reefs at 2-30 m depths, where it grazes on algae growing over rocky or calcareous substrate (Ref. 88982) and seagrasses (Ref. 7360). Males usually solitary, but females are often seen in pairs or small groups, juveniles in loose aggregations of up to 10 individuals (Ref. 88982).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Rocha, L.A., A. Brito and D.R. Robertson, 2012. Sparisoma choati, a new species of Parrotfish (Labridae: Scarinae) from the tropical eastern Atlantic. Zootaxa 3152:61-67. (Ref. 88982)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00871 (0.00516 - 0.01470), b=3.03 (2.88 - 3.18), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 2.0 ±0.1 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (28 of 100).
