- Classification
- ACTINOPTERYGII
- PERCIFORMES
- LABRIDAE
- Chlorurus
- japanensis
Redtail Parrotfish, Chlorurus japanensis (Bloch 1789)
Other Names: Japanese Parrotfish, Pale Bullethead Parrotfish, Palecheek Parrotfish, Red-tailed Parrotfish, Yellow-blotched Parrotfish
A terminal phase (male) Redtail Parrotfish, Chlorurus japanensis, at Ba, Western Fiji, April 2016. Source: Mark Rosenstein / iNaturalist.org. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
Summary:
A small widely distributed parrotfish. Females are uniformly dark-brown with a distinctive reddish tail. The bicoloured males have a purplish-brown anterior with a yellow cheek, diagonally divided from the pale yellow rear area.
Cite this page as:
Dianne J. Bray, Chlorurus japanensis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/393
Redtail Parrotfish, Chlorurus japanensis (Bloch 1789)
More Info
Distribution |
Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical west-Pacific. Although rare throughout its range, Redtail Parrotfish most commonly occur on shallow areas of exposed reefs, often in small groups. |
Features |
Median predorsal scales 4; scales in cheek-scale rows 1(5-6), 2(5-6); pectoral-fin rays 15. |
Feeding |
Herbivore - feeds on benthic algae. |
Remarks |
The species has previously been known as Chlorurus capistratoides and C. pyrrhurus. |
Similar Species |
Although the similar Greenfin Parrotfish, Chlorurus sordidus, often has a pale yellow patch on the rear of the body, it does not have the diagonal division between colours as in Chlorurus japanensis. |
Species Citation |
Scarus japanensis Bloch 1789, Abhandlungen der Böhmischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, Prague 4: 244. Type locality: Japan or Java, Indonesia. |
Author |
Dianne J. Bray |
Redtail Parrotfish, Chlorurus japanensis (Bloch 1789)
References
Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.
Bellwood, D.R. 2001. Scaridae. pp. 3468-3492 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds) The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 6 pp. 3381-4218.
Choat, J.H., Carpenter, K.E., Clements, K.D., Rocha, L.A., Russell, B., Myers, R., Lazuardi, M.E., Muljadi, A., Pardede, S. & Rahardjo, P. 2012. Chlorurus japanensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012: e.T190719A17794255. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T190719A17794255.en. Downloaded on 17 July 2016.
Choat, J.H. & Randall, J.E. 1986. A review of the parrotfishes (family Scaridae) of the Great Barrier Reef of Australia with description of a new species. Records of the Australian Museum 38: 175-228. (as Scarus pyrrhurus)
Comeros-Raynal, M.T., Choat, J.H., Polidoro, B.A., Clements, K.D., Abesamis, R., Craig, M.T., Lazuardi, M.E., McIlwain, J., Muljadi, A., Myers, R.F., Nañola Jr., C.L., Pardede, S., Rocha, L.A., Russell, B., Sanciangco, J.C., Stockwell, B., Harwell, H. & Carpenter, K.E. 2012. The likelihood of extinction of iconic and dominant components of coral reefs: the parrotfishes and surgeonfishes.PLoS ONEhttp://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0039825.PDF Open access
Kuiter, R.H. 1992. Tropical Reef-Fishes of the Western Pacific, Indonesia and Adjacent Waters. Jakarta : PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama 314 pp. pls. (as Scarus japanensis)
Kuiter, R.H. & Tonozuka, T. 2001. Pictorial guide to Indonesian reef fishes. Part 2. Fusiliers - Dragonets, Caesionidae - Callionymidae. Australia : Zoonetics pp. 304-622.
Randall, J.E. 2005. Reef and shore fishes of the South Pacific. New Caledonia to Tahiti and the Pitcairn Islands. Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press 707 pp.
Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs. (as Scarus pyrrhurus)
Randall, J.E. & Choat, J.H. 1980. Two new parrotfishes of the genus Scarus from the Central and South Pacific, with further examples of sexual dichromatism. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 70: 383-419.
Randall, J.E. & Nelson, G. 1979. Scarus japanensis, S. quoyi and S. iserti — valid names for parrotfishes presently known as S. capistratoides, S. blochii and S. croicensis. Copeia 1979(2): 206-212.
Streelman JT, Alfaro M, Westneat MW, Bellwood DR, Karl SA (2002) Evolutionary history of the parrotfishes: biogeography, ecomorphology, and comparative diversity. Evolution 56: 961–971.