Sparisoma
Genus of ray-finned fishes
title: "Sparisoma" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["sparisoma", "extant-eocene-first-appearances", "marine-fish-genera", "taxa-named-by-william-swainson"] description: "Genus of ray-finned fishes" topic_path: "general/sparisoma" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparisoma" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Genus of ray-finned fishes ::
| fossil_range = | image = Stoplight-parrotfish.jpg | image_caption = Male S. viride | taxon = Sparisoma | authority = Swainson, 1839 | type_species = Scarus abildgaardi | type_species_authority = Bloch, 1791 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = See text. | synonyms = *Callyodontichthys Bleeker, 1861
Sparisoma is a genus of parrotfishes native to warmer parts of the Atlantic. FishBase recognizes 15 species in this genus, including S. rocha described from Trindade Island in 2010 and S. choati described from the East Atlantic in 2012. They are the most important grazers of algae in the Caribbean Sea, especially since sea urchins, especially Diadema, the other prominent consumers of algae, have been reduced in many places by a recent epidemic.
The name was proposed by William Swainson as a subgenus of Scarus. Sparus in Latin is a golden-headed fish, and soma means "body". The common spelling Sparisomus is incorrect.
Taxonomy
William Swainson described the genus Sparisoma in 1839 and he designated Sparus abildgaardi as its type species, 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. The name Sparus abildgaardi was suppressed by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature and Scarus chrysopterus was recognised as the type species.
Biology
The size of parrotfishes of this genus ranges from the rather small-sized S. radians with a known maximum length of 20 cm to the large S. viride, which reaches lengths of up to 64 cm.
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 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. Still, since populations have been falling, the coral reefs may be at risk, because too much algae is deleterious or harmful to coral.
Species
::data[format=table title=""]
| Species | Common name | Initial phase | Terminal phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sparisoma amplum | Reef parrotfish | [[File:Sparisoma amplum, Arraial do Cabo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil imported from iNaturalist photo 110777468 (cropped).jpg | frameless]] |
| Sparisoma atomarium | Greenblotch parrotfish | ||
| Sparisoma aurofrenatum | Redband parrotfish | [[File:Sparisoma aurofrenatum, 571 North West Point Road Grand Cayman KY1, West Bay 1301, Cayman Islands imported from iNaturalist photo 467376738 (cropped).jpg | frameless]] |
| Sparisoma axillare | Gray parrotfish | [[File:Sparisoma axillare, Guarapari, BR-ES, BR imported from iNaturalist photo 386084228 (cropped).jpg | frameless]] |
| Sparisoma choati | West-African parrotfish | [[File:Sparisoma choati (cropped).png | |
| Sparisoma chrysopterum | Redtail parrotfish | [[File:Sparisoma chrysopterum, Aruba, Oranjestad, Aruba, AW imported from iNaturalist photo 258758751 (cropped).jpg | frameless]] |
| Sparisoma cretense | Mediterranean parrotfish | [[File:Sparisoma cretense 2 (cropped).jpg | frameless]] |
| Sparisoma frondosum | Agassiz's parrotfish | [[File:Sparisoma frondosum 107515511 (cropped).jpg | frameless]] |
| Sparisoma griseorubrum | Caribbean reef parrotfish | ||
| Sparisoma radians | Bucktooth parrotfish | [[File:Sparisoma radians 137466466.jpg | frameless]] |
| Sparisoma rocha | Rocha's parrotfish | [[File:Sparisoma rocha (cropped).jpg | |
| Sparisoma rubripinne | Redfin parrotfish | [[File:Sparisoma rubripinne 320187554 (cropped).jpg | frameless]] |
| Sparisoma strigatum | Strigate parrotfish | ||
| Sparisoma tuiupiranga | Brazilian red parrotfish | [[File:Sparisoma tuiupiranga, Arraial do Cabo, RJ, 28930-000, Brasil imported from iNaturalist photo 107515535 (cropped).jpg | frameless]] |
| Sparisoma viride | Stoplight parrotfish | [[File:Sparisoma viride, 9HCM Q27, N W Point Rd, West Bay, Cayman Islands imported from iNaturalist photo 469419199 (cropped).jpg | frameless]] |
| :: |
An alleged fossil otolith of Sparisoma from the Lutetian of France would represent the oldest record of this genus, and of parrotfishes in general. However, more recent studies no longer assign the fossil to this genus.
References
References
- "''Sparisoma''".
- {{Cof family
- {{FishBase genus. (2012)
- Pinheiro, H. T., J. L. Gasparini & I. Sazima (2010). ''[http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2010/f/zt02493p065.pdf Sparisoma rocha, a new species of parrotfish (Actinopterygii: Labridae) from Trindade Island, South-western Atlantic.]'' Zootaxa 2493: 59–65.
- Rocha, Brito, and Robertson (2012). ''Sparisoma choati, a new species of Parrotfish (Labirdae: Scarinae) from the tropical eastern Atlantic''. Zootaxa, 3152: 61-67.
- (2000). "An annotated checklist of the species of the Labroid fish families Labridae and Scaridae". Ichthyological Bulletin of the J. L. B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology.
- J.D.D. Smith. (2001). "Official Lists and Indexes of Names and Works in Zoology Supplement 1986-2000". The International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature.
- (2019). "A review of the fossil record of the Labridae". Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien. Serie A für Mineralogie und Petrographie, Geologie und Paläontologie, Anthropologie und Prähistorie.
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