DARK CAPPED PARROTFISH
Scarus oviceps
Scarus oviceps Valenciennes in C & V, 1840 Pectoral rays 14-15 (rarely 15); median predorsal scales 6; 3 rows of scales on cheek, the lower row with 2-3 scales; no conical teeth on side of dental plates; lips covering dental plates; caudal fin of initial phase emarginate, of terminal males deeply emarginate; initial phase pale greenish to yellowish gray, the scales rimmed with dark gray; an oblique yellow bar on back at tip of pectoral fins separated by a dark gray bar from a yellowish blotch below soft portion of dorsal fin; body anterior to yellow bar and head above lower edge of eye dark gray, darkest adjacent to yellow bar and as a band anterior and posterior to eye; terminal males light blue-green, the scales rimmed with lavender-pink; head above lower edge of eye, and anterior body to a diagonal ending at base of eighth dorsal spine, dark purplish gray, becoming paler dorsally on head and nape; dental plates blue-green. Reaches about 30 cm. Ryukyu Islands and Ogasawara Islands to Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia, east to Line Islands, Society Islands (type locality, Tahiti), and Tuamotu Archipelago; Cocos-Keeling Islands and Western Australia south to Shark Bay. Closely related to S. scaber Valenciennes of the western Indian Ocean.

NameDark capped parrotfish 

Max Size35.0 cm TL (male/unsexed; Ref. 48636)

Environmentreef-associated; marine; depth range 1 - 15 m

Climatetropical; 30°N - 27°S

DistributionIndo-Pacific: Mauritius (Ref. 5503) to the Line and Tuamoto islands, north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to Shark Bay and the Great Barrier Reef.

MorphologyDorsal spines(total): 9; Dorsal soft rays(total): 10; Analspines: 3; Analsoft rays: 9. Males recognized by the dark area over head and body, and females yellow barring (Ref. 48636). Closely resembles S. dimidiatus, but S. oviceps differs in that its initial phase has fewer, less vertical diagonal black bars on the back and the terminal phase lacks the light-centered bar between the eye and the pectoral fin base, is darker and less brilliant blue on the upper head and back and is usually larger.

BiologyInhabits lagoon and seaward reefs to at least 10 m (Ref. 9710, 48636). Occurs singly (Ref. 4821).

Fishbase Credit - Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2005.FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version (06/2005).

Scarus oviceps

Species (Scarus oviceps) 7

Genus (Scarus) 148

Family (Scaridae) 228

Location (Water Tower) 80

Scarus oviceps

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