| Sparisoma Temporal range: 44–0 Ma Middle Eocene to Present[1] |
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|---|---|
| Sparisoma viride | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Scaridae |
| Genus: | Sparisoma Swainson, 1839 |
| Species | |
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See text. |
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Sparisoma is a genus of parrotfishes native to warmer parts of the Atlantic. FishBase recognize 13 species in this genus,[2] but another was described from Trindade Island in 2010[3] and a species from the Gulf of Guinea still has not been formally described.[4] 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.
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 centimetres (7.9 in) to the large S. viride, which reaches lengths of up to 64 centimetres (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, for it is now known that too much algae is deleterious to coral.