Teleostei (teleosts) >
Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) >
Scaridae (Parrotfishes) > Scarinae
Etymology: Chlorurus: Greek, chloros = green + Greek oura = tail (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Bleeker.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 50 m (Ref. 90102), usually 1 - 15 m (Ref. 89972). Tropical; 31°N - 35°S, 105°E - 124°W
Pacific Ocean: Bali and the Philippines to the Line and Pitcairn islands, north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to Rottnest Island, Lord Howe Island and Rapa Island (Ref. 37816). The species complex comprise of Chlorurus gibbus in the Red Sea, Chlorurus strongylocephalus in the Indian Ocean and Chlorurus microrhinos in the west-central Pacific.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 70.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2334); common length : 49.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 37816); common length :40 cm SL (female); max. published weight: 5.4 kg (Ref. 37816)
Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 9. Juveniles below about 8 cm are black with several horizontal white streaks. Larger ones up to about 20 cm uniformly dark, greenish brown, slowly becoming blue with age. Blue streak and patch extending behind the corner of the mouth of large males often quite brilliant. Uniformly yellowish-tan individuals rare. Caudal fin lunate in large terminal males. Scale rows on cheek 3. Median predorsal scales 3-4 (Ref. 37816). Males develop large hump on head and appear blunt-headed (Ref. 48636).
Occurs in lagoon and seaward reefs. Juveniles generally solitary; large adults often school together. Feeds on benthic algae (Ref. 89972). Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 128797.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205).
Parenti, P. and J.E. Randall, 2000. An annotated checklist of the species of the labroid fish families Labridae and Scaridae. Ichthyol. Bull. J.L.B. Smith Inst. Ichthyol. (68):1-97. (Ref. 35918)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 4690)
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 24.8 - 29.3, mean 28.4 °C (based on 1923 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01445 (0.01200 - 0.01742), b=3.03 (2.98 - 3.08), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref.
93245).
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (tmax=14; k=0.22).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate to high vulnerability (48 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 22.1 [8.8, 72.4] mg/100g; Iron = 0.51 [0.20, 1.29] mg/100g; Protein = 18.6 [16.5, 20.4] %; Omega3 = 0.0867 [, ] g/100g; Selenium = 44.6 [14.4, 131.5] μg/100g; VitaminA = 39.7 [11.9, 127.6] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.87 [0.84, 3.34] mg/100g (wet weight);
