Scaridae

noun

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