Kingdom Animalia Order Perciformes Genus Sparisoma Higher classification Sparisoma | Phylum Chordata Family Scaridae Scientific name Sparisoma viride Rank Species | |
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Similar Parrotfish, Sparisoma, Queen parrotfish, Princess parrotfish, Sparisoma aurofrenatum | ||
Stoplight parrotfish initial phase
The stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) is a species of parrotfish inhabiting coral reefs in Florida, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Bermuda and as far south as Brazil. Like most of its relatives, it is able to change sex. Its typical length is between 1 and 1.5 ft (30 and 46 cm), but it can reach 2 ft (61 cm) at times. It is normally found during the day at depths between 15 and 80 ft (4.6 and 24.4 m).
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The colors of the stoplight parrotfish in the initial phase, when it could be either a male or a female, are dramatically different from those in the terminal phase, when it is definitely a male. In the initial phase, the stoplight parrotfish can rapidly change the color of the scales on its underside from red to white.
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.
Stoplight parrotfish
