Scarus niger

• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• Bibliography
• More Info
• Notes

Common Names

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Description

Family Scaridae

Chiefly tropical . Distribution: Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Jaw teeth fused or parrotlike. Spines in dorsal fin 9; soft rays 10. Three spines in anal fin; soft rays 9. One spine in pelvic ; soft rays 5. Caudal fin with 11 branched rays . Scales large; cycloid. Lateral line with usually 22-24 scales. Vertebrae 25. Herbivorous, usually scraping algae from dead coral substrates. Bits of rock eaten with the algae are crushed into sand and ground with the algae to aid in digestion , making parrotfish some of the most important producers of sand on coral reefs. At night, some species rest enveloped in their mucoid secretion. Sex change seems a common occurence, with an initial phase (IP) of both males and females, and the latter changing into a brilliantly colored male terminal phase (TP). Terminal males dimonate several females; pelagic spawners. Many species could be identified by their live coloration but this may be lost in preservation, or can vary between juveniles and adults and with sex change. Important food fishes . Difficult to maintain in aquaria as the fused teeth need to constantly graze dead coral rock in order to keep from growing too long.The family Scaridae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) and the Order Perciformes. It contains 9 genera and 83 species. It may be found in Marine environments and is primarily Marine. Many members of this family are used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are nonguarders. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is labriform . Compared with other fish, the activity level of this family tends to be normal. Members of this family have been dated back to the Eocene epoch of the Tertiary period. Etymology of this family name : Latin, sacrus = a fish described by ancient writers; 1601

Habitat

Inhabits coral-rich areas of clear lagoons , channels , and outer reef slopes (Ref. 9710).

Typically found in water with a depth of 0 to -6,737 meters (0 to -22,103 feet).Mean = -470.800 meters (-1,544.619 feet), Standard Deviation = 907.940 based on 650 observations. Ocean depth information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre.

Biome: Saltwater . Reef-associated .

Biology

Diet

Feeds on benthic algae (Ref. 30573).

Reproduction

Males maintain small harems and pair spawn (Ref. 1602).

Behavior

Generally solitary (Ref. 1602). Juveniles in small groups on algae and coral reefs inshore (Ref. 48636).

Taxonomy

Ambiguous Synonyms

1. Scarus chadri Lacep�de, 1802
2. Scarus makaravar Montrouzier, 1857

Unambiguous Synonyms

1. Callyodon lineolabiatus Fowler & Bean, 1928
2. Callyodon madagascariensis (Steindachner, 1887)
3. Callyodon maoricus Jordan & Seale, 1906
4. Callyodon niger (Forssk�l, 1775)
5. Callyodon nuchipunctatus (Valenciennes, 1840)
6. Pseudoscarus flavomarginatus Kner, 1865
7. Pseudoscarus godeffroyi G�nther, 1909
8. Pseudoscarus madagascariensis Steindachner, 1887
9. Pseudoscarus niger subsp. viridis Klunzinger, 1871
10. Scarus limbatus Valenciennes, 1840
11. Scarus lineolabiatus (Fowler & Bean, 1928)
12. Scarus nigar Forsskål, 1775
13. Scarus nigar Forssk�l, 1775
14. Scarus niger Forsskål, 1775
15. Scarus nuchipunctatus Valenciennes, 1840

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Family : Parrotfishes .

Similar Species

Members of the genus Scarus

There are approximately 142 species in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

S. ghobban · S. abildgardii · S. abilgardii · S. acutus · S. globiceps · S. altipinnis (Filament Finned Parrotfish) · S. apridentatus · S. arabicus (Arabian Parrotfish) · S. aurofrenatum · S. barborus · S. barffi · S. bipallidus · S. blochi · S. bollmani · S. brighami · S. caeruleus · S. californiensis · S. catesby · S. catesbyi · S. caudofasciatus (Redbarred Parrotfish) · S. niger · S. chameleon (Chameleon Parrotfish) · S. chinensis · S. rubroviolaceus · S. chrysopoma · S. chrysopomus · S. circumnotatus · S. coelestinus (Midnight Parrotfish) · S. coerulens · S. coeruleus (Blue Kwab) · S. collana (Greenband Parrotfish) · S. compressus (Azure Parrotfish) · S. croicencis · S. zelindae · S. cruciensis · S. cuzamilae · S. cypho · S. dimidiatus (Blue-Bridle Parrotfish) · S. dubius (Regal Parrot) · S. emblematicus · S. erythacusn · S. falcipinnis (Greenbelly Parrotfish) · S. ferrugineus (Rusty Parrotfish) · S. festivus (Festive Parrotfish) · S. flavipectoralis (King Parrotfish) · S. forresti · S. forskael · S. forsteni (Big Belly Parrotfish) · S. fowleri · S. francisci · S. frenatus (Birdled Parrotfish) · S. fuscocaudalis (Black-Tail Parrotfish) · S. fuscopurpureus (Purple-Brown Parrotfish) · S. gallus · S. gaucamaia · S. ghobban (Blue Barred Parrotfish) · S. globiceps (Globehead Parrotfish) · S. gnathodus · S. gracilis · S. guacamaia (Blue Rainbow) · S. guacannia · S. guancannia · S. hoefleri (Guinean Parrot Fish) · S. hypselopterus (East-Indies Parrotfish) · S. iseri (Grey Chub) · S. zelindae · S. jonesi · S. koputea (Marquesan Parrotfish) · S. kraussi · S. lacrimosus · S. lateralis · S. tricolor · S. leucostigma · S. lineolatus · S. longipinnis (Highfin Parrotfish) · S. lorito · S. chameleon · S. lydiae · S. madagascariensis · S. niger · S. maoricus · S. mastax · S. meleagrides · Chlorurus strongylocephalus · S. microrhinus · S. miniatus · S. miniofrenatus · S. neja · S. niger (Black Parrotfish) · S. nigrescens · S. obishime · S. psittacus · S. ophthalmistius · S. oviceps (Blue Parrotfish) · S. ovifrons (Knobsnout Parrotfish) · S. pahoro · S. paluca · S. parpureus · S. oviceps · S. pentazona

Bibliography

• Allen, G.R. and R.C. Steene (1988). Fishes of Christmas Island Indian Ocean. Christmas Island Natural History Association, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, 6798, Australia. 197 p.
• Allen, G.R. and W.F. Smith-Vaniz (1994). Fishes of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Atoll Res. Bull. 412:21 p.
• Bruce, R.W. and J.E. Randall (1984). Scaridae. In W. Fischer and G. Bianchi (eds.) FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. (Western Indian Ocean fishing area 51). volume 3. [var. pag.] FAO, Rome.
• Fischer, W., I. Sousa, C. Silva, A. de Freitas, J.M. Poutiers, W. Schneider, T.C. Borges, J.P. Feral and A. Massinga (1990). Fichas FAO de identificaçao de espécies para actividades de pesca. Guia de campo das espécies comerciais marinhas e de águas salob
• Francis, M. P. (1993). Checklist of the coastal fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk, and Kermadec Islands, Southwest Pacific Ocean. Pac. Sci. 47(2):136-170.
• Herre, A.W.C.T. (1953). Check list of Philippine fishes. Res. Rep. U.S. Fish Wild. Serv., (20):977 p.
• Huang, Z. (2001). Marine species and their distribution in China's Seas. pp. 404- 463. Vertebrata. Smithsonian Institution, Florida, USA. 598 p.
• Kailola, P.J. (1987). The fishes of Papua New Guinea: a revised and annotated checklist. Vol. II Scorpaenidae to Callionymidae. Research Bulletin No. 41, Research Section, Dept. of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Papua New Guinea.
• Kapoor, D., R. Dayal and A.G. Ponniah (2002). Fish biodiversity of India. National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources Lucknow, India.775 p.
• Kulbicki, M., J.E. Randall and J. Rivaton (1994). Checklist of the fishes of the Chesterfield Islands (Coral Sea). Micronesica 27(1/2):1-43.
• Masuda, H., K. Amaoka, C. Araga, T. Uyeno and T. Yoshino (1984). The fishes of the Japanese Archipelago. Vol. 1 (text). Tokai University Press, Tokyo, Japan. 437 p. (text), 370 pls.
• Myers, R.F. (1991). Micronesian reef fishes. Second Ed. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 298 p.
• Myers, R.F. (1999). Micronesian reef fishes: a comprehensive guide to the coral reef fishes of Micronesia, 3rd revised and expanded edition. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 330 p.
• Ni, I-H and K-Y Kwok (1999). Marine fish fauna in Hong Kong waters. Zool. Stud. 38(2):130-152.
• Randall, J.E. (1986). 106 new records of fishes from the Marshall Islands. Bull. Mar. Sci. 38(1):170-252.
• Randall, J.E. (1986). Scaridae. p. 706-714. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
• Randall, J.E. (1995). Coastal fishes of Oman. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 439 p.
• Randall, J.E. (1997). Randall's tank photos. Collection of 10,000 large-format photos (slides) of dead fishes. Unpublished.
• Randall, J.E. (1997). Randall's underwater photos. Collection of over 2,000 underwater photos (slides). Unpublished.
• Randall, J.E. and C. Anderson (1993). Annotated checklist of the epipelagic and shore fishes of the Maldives Islands. Ichthyol. Bull. of the J.L.B. Smith Inst. of Ichthyol. 59:47.
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• Shao, K.-T., S.-C. Shen, T.-S. Chiu and C.-S. Tzeng (1992). Distribution and database of fishes in Taiwan. p. 173-206. In C.-Y. Peng (ed.) Collections of research studies on 'Survey of Taiwan biological resources and information management'. Institute
• Smith, A. and P. Dalzell (1993). Fisheries resources and management investigations in Woleai Atoll, Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia. Inshore Fish. Res. Proj., Tech. Doc., South Pacific Commission. Noumea, New Caledonia. 64 p.
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Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed April 20, 2007.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 01, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 7 providers.
• MBLWHOI Library: Universal Biological Index and Organizer. uBio.org accessed July 18, 2008.
• Westneat, Mark (from FishBase).

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 01, 2008:

• FishBase: FishBase DiGIR Provider - Philippine Server
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: AIMS - Baited Remote Underwater Video Station (OBIS Australia)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: AIMS LTM Fish (OBIS Australia)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity - Fish Collection (AfrOBIS)
• Museum national d'histoire naturelle: Ichtyologie
• National Chemical Laboratory: IndOBIS, Indian Ocean Node of OBIS
• OZCAM (Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums) Provider: Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums
• Royal Ontario Museum: Fish specimens
• Senckenberg: Collection Pisces

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2501506
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Fis-31422
• Fishbase Species ID: 5550
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13535730
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 170851
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 123973

Footnotes

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