The Mediterranean parrotfish (''Sparisoma cretense'') is a species of
parrotfish
Parrotfishes are a group of about 90 fish species regarded as a 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 in coral reefs, ro ...
found at depths up to along rocky shores in the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
and the eastern Atlantic, from
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
south to
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
.
[ It is generally common, but uncommon or rare (locally even absent) in the northwestern Mediterranean and in the ]Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...
.[Dulcic & Pallaoro (2001). Some new data on Xyrichthys novacula (Linnaeus, 1758) and Sparisoma (Euscarus) cretense (Linnaeus, 1758) from the eastern Adriatic. Annales 1: 35-42.] It prefers relatively warm temperatures and there is an ongoing northward range expansion, probably because of global warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
.[Astruch, Bonhomme, Goujard, Rouanet, Boudouresque, Harmelin & Harmelin-Vivien (2016). Provence and Mediterranean warning: The parrotfish Sparisoma cretense is coming. Rapp. Comm. int. Mer Médit. 41: 362.] The primary adult habitat is rocky reefs, especially in areas with macroalgae
Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of '' Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...
, but they may visit adjacent seagrass
Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Cymodoceaceae), all in the or ...
patches. Juveniles also occur more widely in the latter habitat.[Espino, González, Haroun & Tuya (2015). Abundance and biomass of the parrotfish Sparisoma cretense in seagrass meadows: temporal and spatial differences between seagrass interiors and seagrass adjacent to reefs. Environ Biol Fish 98: 121–133. ][Kalogirou, Corsini-Foka, Sioulas, Wennhage & Pihl (2010). Diversity, structure and function of fish assemblages associated with Posidonia oceanica beds in an area of the eastern Mediterranean Sea and the role of non-indigenous species. J Fish Biol. 77(10): 2338-2357. ]
In parts of its range it is a commercially important food fish
Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ing ...
. Although some populations have been affected by fishing pressure, it is not considered threatened.Azores
)
, motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
.[Afonsoa, Moratoa & Santos (2008). Spatial patterns in reproductive traits of the temperate parrotfish Sparisoma cretense.'' Fisheries Research'' 90(1-3): 92-99. ]
Behavior
The Mediterranean parrotfish feeds primarily on epilithic and coralline algae
Coralline algae are red algae in the order Corallinales. They are characterized by a thallus that is hard because of calcareous deposits contained within the cell walls. The colors of these algae are most typically pink, or some other shade of ...
, but may also take epiphytic algae (growing on seagrass) and small invertebrates
Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordat ...
.[ The jaws and dentition are specially adapted to this feeding.
It primarily breeds during the summer, from July to September,][ but breeding can occur as early as May and late as December.][ It is a diurnal fish, but ]spawning
Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquat ...
is around dawn or dusk and can occur in pairs or groups.[de Girolamo, Scaggiante & Rasotto (1999). Social organization and sexual pattern in the Mediterranean parrotfish Sparisoma cretense (Teleostei: Scaridae).'' Marine Biology'' 135(2): 353-360. ] The pelagic
The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or w ...
eggs hatch into free-swimming larvae. The pelagic stage for the eggs and larvae is 50–60 days in '' Sparisoma'' parrotfish, after which they settle on rocky reefs and among seagrass.[Domingues, Alexandrou, Almada, Robertson, Brito, Santos & Bernardi (2008). Tropical fishes in a temperate sea: evolution of the wrasse Thalassoma pavo and the parrotfish Sparisoma cretensein the Mediterranean and the adjacent Macaronesian and Cape Verde Archipelagos. Mar Biol 154: 465–474. ]
Appearance
As its relatives, this parrotfish starts as female and then changes to male (known as the terminal phase). However, unlike most of its relatives, it is a secondary gonochorist. This means that some females do not change sex (they remain females throughout their lives), the ones that do change from female to male do it while still immature (reproductively functioning females do not change to males) and there are no males with female-like colours (known as initial phase males in other parrotfish).[
Juveniles less than long are mottled with a yellowish head and have undifferentiated gonads (not male or female). Immatures that are long are mottled brownish and have immature female gonads (]ovaries
The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. T ...
).[ If stressed, they adopt a pattern with broad horizontal white stripes.][ At larger sizes, the adult colours appear and the male or female gonads are mature.][ The adult females are red with a yellow-edged greyish saddle shape on the back and a yellow spot at the base of the tail. The males are overall greyish with paler underparts and no distinctive markings, although typically with blackish bars on the throat and opercular.][Debelius, H. (1997). ''Mediterranean and Atlantic Fish Guide: From Spain to Turkey - From Norway to South Africa'', p. 221. ConchBooks. .][Sparisoma cretense]
Observadores del Mar, Mediterranean Fishes. Retrieved 11 March 2018. Adults reach a maximum length of about ,[Morato, T., P. Afonso, P. Lourinho, J.P. Barreiros, R.S. Santos & R.D.M. Nash 2001. Length-weight relationships for 21 coastal fish species of the Azores, north-eastern Atlantic. Fisheries Research, 50: 297-302. ] but most are long.[ There is an almost complete overlap in the sizes of the adult females and adult males, although the former are on average smaller than the latter.][
]
Human usage
''Sparisoma cretense'' is a quarry of spearfishers in the Canary Islands. In other parts of its range it is caught and sold as bycatch.
References
Further reading
*Projecto CLIPE – Efeitos climáticos na ecologia de peixes litorais limate effect on the ecology of coastal fishes
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q589463
cretense
Fish of the Atlantic Ocean
Fish of the Mediterranean Sea
Fish of West Africa
Fish described in 1758
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus