Scarus ghobban

Scarus ghobban, also known as the blue-barred parrotfish, blue trim parrotfish, cream parrotfish, globe-headed parrotfish, green blotched parrotfish, yellow scale parrotfish, and bluechin parrotfish,^[1] is a species of marine ray-finned fish in the family Scaridae.

Scarus ghobban
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)(Persian Gulf)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Labriformes
Family:	Labridae
Genus:	Scarus
Species:	S. ghobban
Binomial name
Scarus ghobban Forsskål, 1775[2]
Synonyms[3]
Scarus ghobban Forsskål, 1775 Callyodon ghobban (Forsskål, 1775) Scarus guttatus Bloch & Schneider, 1801 Callyodon guttatus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) Scarus maculosus Lacepède, 1802 Scarus pepo Bennett, 1830 Scarus reticulata Swainson, 1839 Hemistoma reticulata (Swainson, 1839) Scarus lacerta Valenciennes, 1840 Scarus dussumieri Valenciennes, 1840 Callyodon dussumieri (Valenciennes, 1840) Scarus scabriusculus Valenciennes, 1840 Scarus magrathii Bennett, 1841 Scarus pyrrostethus Richardson, 1846 Scarus haridoides Bleeker, 1855 Pseudoscarus cantori Bleeker, 1861 Pseudoscarus nudirostris Alleyne & Macleay, 1877 Pseudoscarus papuensis Macleay, 1883 Pseudoscarus flavipinnis De Vis, 1885 Pseudoscarus californiensis Pellegrin, 1901 Scarus noyesi Heller & Snodgrass, 1903 Pseudoscarus natalensis Gilchrist & Thompson, 1909 Pseudoscarus garretti Günther, 1909 Scarus pyrrostethus australianus Paradice, 1927 Scarus azureus Meek & Hildebrand, 1928 Scarus toshi Whitley, 1933 Callyodon fuscocuneus Fowler, 1935 Callyodon speigleri J.L.B. Smith, 1956 Callyodon apridentatus Smith, 1956 Scarus fehlmanni Schultz, 1969

Description

Close-up of the teeth

This species is blue-green to green in colour and commonly grows to approximately 46 cm. Its appearance is variable. It may have a central stripe on the dorsal and anal fins that is pink in color. The underside of the body may be pinkish or yellowish. There may be blue markings around the area of the pectoral fin.^[4]

Distribution

Scarus ghobban is widespread throughout the Indo-Pacific, known from East Africa to Indonesia. It is also present in the Eastern Pacific, occurring in the Galápagos Islands^[4] as well as Japan, south to Australia and east to French Polynesia.^[2] Recently recorded in 2001 for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea off Israel, following an entry via the Suez Canal, it is now expanding northward in Levantine waters where it remains rare.^[5][6]

Like other reef fish with a pelagic larval phase, regional currents facilitate high levels of gene flow, which in turn create high genetic diversity among the species.^[7]

Habitat

Scarus ghobban occurs in places with sandy bottoms and in areas with seagrass. It is also known to live in marginal reefs and in deeper waters.^[1]

Ecology

Scarus ghobban grows quickly and can live up to 13 years. It tends to congregate in small schools.^[1] Scarus ghobban can rotate their mandible bone at a high velocity; this allows them to function as a scraper and facilitate hydrological transport of fine sediments.^[8]

Reproduction

The way Scarus ghobban reproduces is by the female laying eggs into the current of the water. After about 25 hours after the egg has been fertilized, it will hatch. After birth, the parrotfish will mature quickly and will not have to be near its parents for much time.^[9]

Threats

While the species is captured in large numbers by fishermen for consumption and sale, and there is also a high amount of bycatch from other fisheries, it is not particularly targeted and appears not to be threatened at this point. As with other parrotfish, it is dependent on coral reefs to some degree and is likely to suffer from the continued degradation of those reefs.^[1]