Scarus

Scarus; Temporal range: Early Oligocene to Present
	Scarus ferrugineus, terminal phase
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Labriformes
Family:	Scaridae
Genus:	Scarus; Forsskål, 1775
Type species
	Scarus psittacus; Forsskål (not of Linnaeus), 1775
Species
	about 52, see text
Synonyms
	Callyodon Scopoli, 1777; Calliodon Bloch & Schneider, 1801; Erychthys Swainson, 1839; Hemistoma Swainson, 1839; Petronason Swainson, 1839; Scarus Bleeker, 1847; Pseudoscarus Bleeker, 1861; Loro Jordan & Evermann, 1896; Margaritodon J.L.B. Smith, 1956; Scarops Schultz, 1958; Xenoscarops Schultz, 1958;

Scarus is a genus of parrotfishes. With 52 currently recognised extant species,^[3] it is by far the largest genus in this family. The vast majority are found at reefs in the Indo-Pacific, but a small number of species are found in the warmer parts of the eastern Pacific and the western Atlantic, with a single species, Scarus hoefleri in the eastern Atlantic. Most are very colourful, and have strikingly different initial (males and females) and terminal (males only) phases. Adults of most species reach maximum lengths of between 30 and 50 cm (12–20 in), but the rainbow parrotfish (Scarus guacamaia) can grow to lengths of 1.2 m (3.9 ft).^[3]

Species

There are currently 52 recognised species in this genus:^[3]

Scarus altipinnis (Steindachner, 1879) (filament-finned parrotfish)
Scarus arabicus (Steindachner, 1902) (Arabian parrotfish)
Scarus caudofasciatus (Günther, 1862) (red-barred parrotfish)
Scarus chameleon Choat & Randall, 1986 (chameleon parrotfish)
Scarus chinensis (Steindachner, 1867)
Scarus coelestinus Valenciennes, 1840 (midnight parrotfish)
Scarus coeruleus (Edwards, 1771) (blue parrotfish)
Scarus collana Rüppell, 1835 (Red Sea parrotfish)
Scarus compressus (Osburn & Nichols 1916) (azure parrotfish)
Scarus dimidiatus Bleeker, 1859 (yellow-barred parrotfish)
Scarus dubius (Bennett, 1828) (regal parrotfish)
Scarus falcipinnis (Playfair, 1868) (sicklefin parrotfish)
Scarus ferrugineus Forsskål, 1775 (rusty parrotfish)
Scarus festivus Valenciennes, 1840 (festive parrotfish)
Scarus flavipectoralis Schultz, 1958 (yellowfin parrotfish)
Scarus forsteni (Bleeker, 1861) (Forsten's parrotfish)
Scarus frenatus Lacépède, 1802 (bridled parrotfish)
Scarus fuscocaudalis Randall & Myers, 2000 (darktail parrotfish)
Scarus fuscopurpureus (Klunzinger, 1871) (purple-brown parrotfish)
Scarus ghobban Forsskål, 1775 (blue-barred parrotfish)
Scarus globiceps Valenciennes, 1840 (globehead parrotfish)
Scarus gracilis (Steindachner 1869)
Scarus guacamaia Cuvier, 1829 (rainbow parrotfish)
Scarus hoefleri (Steindachner, 1881) (Guinean parrotfish)
Scarus hypselopterus Bleeker, 1853 (yellowtail parrotfish)
Scarus iseri (Bloch, 1789) (striped parrotfish)
Scarus koputea Randall & Choat, 1980 (Marquesan parrotfish)
Scarus longipinnis Randall & Choat, 1980 (highfin parrotfish)
Scarus maculipinna Westneat, Satapoomin & Randall, 2007 (Spot-fin parrotfish)
Scarus niger Forsskål, 1775 (dusky parrotfish)
Scarus obishime Randall & Earle, 1993 (yellowtail parrotfish)
Scarus oviceps Valenciennes, 1840 (dark-capped parrotfish)
Scarus ovifrons Temminck & Schlegel, 1846 knobsnout parrotfish
Scarus perrico Jordan & Gilbert, 1882 (bumphead parrotfish)
Scarus persicus Randall & Bruce, 1983 (gulf parrotfish)
Scarus prasiognathos Valenciennes, 1840 (Singapore parrotfish)
Scarus psittacus Forsskål 1775 (common parrotfish)
Scarus quoyi Valenciennes, 1840 (Quoy's parrotfish)
Scarus rivulatus Valenciennes, 1840 (rivulated parrotfish)
Scarus rubroviolaceus Bleeker, 1847 (ember parrotfish)
Scarus russelii Valenciennes, 1840 (eclipse parrotfish)
Scarus scaber Valenciennes, 1840 (fivesaddle parrotfish)
Scarus schlegeli Bleeker, 1867 (yellowband parrotfish)
Scarus spinus (Kner) (greensnout parrotfish)
Scarus taeniopterus Lesson, 1829 (princess parrotfish)
Scarus tricolor Bleeker, 1847 (tricolour parrotfish)
Scarus trispinosus Valenciennes, 1840 (greenback parrotfish)
Scarus vetula Bloch & Schneider, 1801 (queen parrotfish)
Scarus viridifucatus J.L.B. Smith, 1956 (roundhead parrotfish)
Scarus xanthopleura Bleeker, 1853 (red parrotfish)
Scarus zelindae Moura, Figueiredo & Sazima, 2001 (Zelinda's parrotfish)
Scarus zufar Randall & Hoover, 1995 (Dhofar parrotfish)

In political thought

In Cesare Ripa's Renaissance iconography, the scarus fish symbolised civil "Union," i.e. the joining of individuals into a collective body. Plutarch had written that scarus fish "swim together in shoals and ingeniously and heroically free each other when caught in a net." The scarus thus "denoted reciprocal assistance in the fight for survival."^[4]

Gallery

References

^ Sepkoski, J. (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Retrieved 25 December 2007.
^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Scaridae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c Froese, R. and D. Pauly, Eds. Scarus. FishBase. 2013.
^ Hont, I. Jealousy of Trade: International Competition and the Nation-State in Historical Perspective. Harvard UP: 2005, pp. 21-22.

[1] Sepkoski, J. (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Retrieved 25 December 2007.

[CofFF-2] Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Scaridae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 11 February 2020.

[fb-3] Froese, R. and D. Pauly, Eds. Scarus. FishBase. 2013.

[Hont-4] Hont, I. Jealousy of Trade: International Competition and the Nation-State in Historical Perspective. Harvard UP: 2005, pp. 21-22.

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