''Chlorurus gibbus'', the heavybeak parrotfish, gibbus parrotfish or Red Sea steephead parrotfish, is a species of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

, a

parrotfish Parrotfishes are a group of about 90 fish species regarded as a Family (biology), family (Scaridae), or a subfamily (Scarinae) of the wrasses. With about 95 species, this group's largest species richness is in the Indo-Pacific. They are found ...

from the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Scaridae. It is found in the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

Description

''Chlorurus gibbus'' is a large species of parrotfish which can attain a

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

of and a weight of . The solitary juveniles are marked with longitudinal black and white stripes, the adults are blue in colour with a green and purple sheen in the males and a yellow sheen in the females.

Distribution

''Chlorurus gibbus'' is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

and the Gulf of Aqaba. It has not been recorded in the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channe ...

where the closely related species '' Chlorurus strongylocephalus'' has been recorded. A report of ''C. gibbus'' from

Socotra Socotra or Soqotra (; ar, سُقُطْرَىٰ ; so, Suqadara) is an island of the Republic of Yemen in the Indian Ocean, under the ''de facto'' control of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, a secessionist participant in Yemen’s ...

requires verification.

Habitat and biology

''Chlorurus gibbus'' occurs in shallow reefs and in nearby areas of sandy substrate in lagoons and bays at depths between . The adults school over the outer reef where there is an abundant growth of algae. They graze on filamentous algae. They have been recorded as attaining 14 years of age. They are

protogynous hermaphrodite Sequential hermaphroditism (called dichogamy in botany) is a type of hermaphroditism that occurs in many fish, gastropods, and plants. Sequential hermaphroditism occurs when the individual changes its sex at some point in its life. In particular, ...

s and have a social structure consisting of

harems Harem (Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A hare ...

with a single dominant male. However, they are not

territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

and will live and feed alongside peaceably with other species. The teeth of parrotfish are fused together to form a powerful beak which they use to graze on filamentous algae growing on dead coral, often found feeding among a cloud of sediment. They are

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

and the male and female form a pair to

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: Ar ...

. During the night they create a bag from mucus and bubbles which provides protection from nocturnal predators.

Taxonomy

''Chlorurus gibbus'' was first formally described as ''Scarus gibbus'' in 1829 by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

naturalist and explorer

Eduard Rüppell Wilhelm Peter Eduard Simon Rüppell (20 November 1794 – 10 December 1884) was a German Natural history, naturalist and List of explorers, explorer. Rüppell is occasionally transliterated to "Rueppell" for the English alphabet, due to german ort ...

(1794-1884), the type locality was given as Al Muwaylih,

Tabuk Province Tabuk ( ar, مِنْطَقَة تَبُوْك '), also spelled ''Tabouk'', is a region of Saudi Arabia, located along the north-west coast of the country, facing Egypt across the Red Sea. It has an area of 146,072 km2 and a population of 91 ...

in Saudi Arabia. When Swainson created the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Chlorurus ''Chlorurus '' is a genus of parrotfish from the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Species There are 18 species: *'' Chlorurus atrilunula'' ( Randall & Bruce, 1983) *'' Chlorurus bleekeri'' ( de Beaufort, 1940) *'' Chlorurus bowersi'' ( Snyder, 1909) ...

'' in 1839 he designated ''Scarus gibbus'' is its

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

. C. gibbus along with ''C. strongylocephalus'' in the Indian Ocean and '' C. microrhinos'' in the west-central Pacific forms a species complex.

Human usage

''Chlorurus gibbus'' is fished in the central Red Sea, in the

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

fish market it was shown to be a significant part of the parrotfish catch.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3499521

gibbus ''Gibbus'' is an extinct genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Streptaxidae. Distribution The genus ''Gibbus'' was endemic to Mauritius and it is now extinct.Sutcharit C., Naggs F., Wade C. ...

Taxa named by Eduard Rüppell Fish described in 1829