Stoplight parrotfish
The stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a parrotfish from the family Scaridae, inhabiting coral reefs in Florida, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Bermuda and as far south as Brazil. It mainly feeds on algae by scraping and excavating it with its teeth. Like most of its relatives, it is able to change sex.
| Stoplight parrotfish | |
|---|---|
| Male (terminal phase) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Labriformes |
| Family: | Scaridae |
| Genus: | Sparisoma |
| Species: | S. viride |
| Binomial name | |
| Sparisoma viride (Bonnaterre, 1788) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The common name, stoplight, comes from the marked yellow spot near the pectoral fin, which is clearly visible only in specimens in the terminal phase.
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