BLUE-BARRED PARROTFISH
Scarus ghobban
Scarus ghobban Forsskål, 1775 Pectoral rays 15-16 (rarely 16); median predorsal scales usually 6, preceded by a medial pair of small scales; 3 rows of scales on cheek, the lower row with 1-2 scales; large adults with 1-3 conical teeth posteriorly on side of upper dental plate; lips covering more than half of dental plates; posterior nostril oval and large; caudal fin slightly emarginate in small initial-phase fish to lunate in large terminal males; initial phase dull orange-yellow, whitish ventrally, the centers of scales blue or blue-green; 5 irregular blue or blue-green bars often present on body (from more intense blue or blue-green in scale centers within bars); fins orange-yellow, the dorsal and anal with blue margins, the upper and lower edges of caudal fin and upper edge of pectoral fins blue; terminal males green dorsally, the scales rimmed with salmon pink, shading to pale green ventrally with a pale salmon pink bar on each scale; head green dorsally, shading to pale salmon on cheek and chin, with 2 transverse blue bands on chin and 3 narrow irregular green bands extending posteriorly from eye; juveniles yellowish with 1-3 irregular white blotches. Reaches 75 cm. The most wide-ranging of scarid fishes, from the Red Sea (type locality) and East Africa to the tropical eastern Pacific; islands of Oceania except the Hawaiian Islands and Easter Island; usually seen on shallow reefs and adjacent sandy areas of lagoons and bays; more inclined to penetrate silty environments than other parrotfishes. Scarus dussumieri Valenciennes is one of 25 synonyms (Parenti & Randall, 2000).

NameBlue-barred parrotfish 

Max Size90.0 cm TL (male/unsexed; Ref. 5284); max. reported age: 13 years

Environmentreef-associated; brackish; marine; depth range 3 - 36 m

Climatetropical; 30°N - 32°S

DistributionIndo-Pacific: Red Sea and Algoa Bay, South Africa (Ref. 5490) to Rapa and Ducie islands, north to southern Japan, south to Perth, New South Wales. Likely at Seychelles (Ref. 1623). Eastern Pacific: Gulf of California to Ecuador (Ref. 5227). Eastern Mediterranean: off the coast of Shiqmona, first Lessepsian immigrant of Family Scaridae (Ref. 45081).

MorphologyDorsal spines(total): 9; Dorsal soft rays(total): 10; Analspines: 3; Analsoft rays: 9. Distinctive yellow and blue-barred primary phase; terminal phase resembles that of S. forsteni.

BiologyInhabits lagoon and seaward reefs (Ref. 1602), in slopes and drop-offs (Ref. 48636). Males common in atolls where they live mainly around the inner and outer edges of barrier reefs at depths of about 30 ft; females prefer deeper habitat (Ref. 4821). Small juveniles inshore on algae reef habitat. Enters silty, murky environments (Ref. 5490). Adults solitary (but may sometimes occur in small groups), juveniles in groups (Ref. 9710, 48636). Feeds by scraping algae from rocks and corals (Ref. 5227). Caught with nets and other types of artisanal gear. Marketed fresh (Ref. 5284). In the Hong Kong live fish markets (Ref. 27253).

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

Scarus ghobban

Species (Scarus ghobban) 12

Genus (Scarus) 148

Family (Scaridae) 228

Location (Water Tower) 80

Scarus ghobban

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