WHATSTHATFISH
Bony fish

Stoplight Parrotfish

Sparisoma viride

Also known as: Dark Green Parrotfish, Moontail, Parrot Chub, Redbelly

LCLeast ConcernIUCN Red List, 2012
Adult
@myrisabou · Henry Morgan Resort ROATAN, Honduras · January 20161 / 53

Showing details for the adult stage. Switch stages to see how it differs.

01

Overview

Found singly or in small schools, foraging for food, over live corals, in clear water reefs, rich in algae growth.

Parrotfish are hermaphrodites and live in harems with a dominant male. They are not territorial, living and feeding in harmony with other species.
Their teeth are fused into powerful beaks which are used for grabbing filamentous algae from dead coral, often found feeding in a cloud of sediment.
At night parrotfish make a sleeping bag out of slime bubbles for protection against predators.
These beautiful fish whose males usually outshine the females for colour also change dramatically from juvenile to adult.

02

How to identify

Tap any trait to see other fish that share it.

03

Habitat & where to find it

Where the adult stage lives, and where its photos were taken.

  • Range · Western Atlantic, Caribbean
  • Country only · 53
LIVES IN

Found singly or in small schools, foraging for food, over live corals, in clear water reefs, rich in algae growth.

04

Adult photos 53

05

Discussion 1

Comments are checked by a moderator before they appear.

1 comment

  • JohnEss· 5 Aug 2019

    Excellent capture of this late first stage specimen!

    Helpful
ALL STAGES
FOR THE MARINE-BIOLOGY CURIOUS

Deep dive

Taxonomy

  1. familyScaridae
  2. genusSparisoma
  3. speciesSparisoma viride (Bonnaterre, 1788)

SourcesWoRMSFishBase

06

More in the family

Parrotfishes (Scaridae)