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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
queen parrotfish |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Osteichthyes |
| ORDER: |
Perciformes |
| FAMILY: |
Scaridae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Scarus vetula |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Supermale form has a green to blue-green body with
a turquoise stripe along the tip of the single dorsal
fin. Vibrant turquoise markings are found around
mouth. Caudal fin exhibits central turquoise crescent.
Solid (truncate) caudal fin. Adult form has a charcoal
body with a broad white stripe running along the
mid-section. Additionally, lower head may exhibit
lighter coloration. Juvenile form has a white body
with three black stripes running from head to tail
(very similar to juvenile rainbow parrotfish, Scarus
guacamaia). |
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| SIZE: |
Adult: 15.2-25.4 cm (6-10 in); 30.5 cm (12 in) max |
| MALE |
Supermale:
30.5-40.6 cm (12-16 in) avg; 61.0 cm (2 ft) max |
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| DIET: |
Algae (scraped from rocks and/or coral) |
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| INCUBATION: |
Species exhibits protogyny. Fertilization is external.
Species is open water/substratum egg scatterer.
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| RANGE: |
Western Atlantic: Bermuda, Florida, and Bahamas
to northern South America |
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| HABITAT: |
3-25 meters in tropical & sub-tropical marine
coastal waters |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
No
data |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Not listed |
| CITES |
Not listed |
| USFWS |
Not
listed |
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| 1. |
The
queen parrotfish secretes a mucus cocoon in which
it sleeps at night. The cocoon acts to isolate the
scent of the parrotfish, making it less vulnerable
to predators. |
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| 2. |
For
more information about bony fishes, explore the
bony
fishes info book. |
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| Bond,
Carl E. Biology of Fishes - Second Edition.
Saunders College Publishing, 1996. |
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Humann, Paul. Reef Fish Identification - Florida,
Caribbean, Bahamas. New World Publications,
Inc., 1992. |
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www.fishbase.org
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