Common Name
Trindade Parrotfish
Year Described
Pinheiro, Gasparini & Sazima, 2010
Identification
Dorsal Fin: IX, 10
Anal Fin: III, 9
Pelvic Fin: I, 5
Pectoral Fin: 12
Gill Rakers: 15 (first arch)
Lateral Line: 26-27
A robust parrotfish with a slightly convex frontal profile. Snout blunt. Teeth are fused into a beak but retain a scalloped cutting edge. Anterior nostril with a fleshy flap broken into cirri. Lower teeth overhang upper when jaws are closed. Caudal fin truncate in juveniles, emarginate in IP individuals, and lunate in TP individuals. Body, rear of head, and median fin bases with scales. Predorsal scales usually four. A single row of 5 scales on cheek.
Color
TERMINAL PHASE: Dorsal half of body reddish brown with three red stripes following the lower scale rows. Head reddish brown with a golden yellow to orange stripe running from mouth to opercular edge, where it joins the lower red stripe. Other golden spots scattered on upper head. Eye red. Lower body gray-green with blue scale centers and an extensive yellow wash posteriorly. Dorsal fin reddish brown with green distal membranes. Anal fin green with blue basal membranes. Pectoral fin with a yellowish base and a black basal blotch surrounded by bright blue. Caudal fin bright red with a pale blue or green median crescent and a reddish posterior edge. INITIAL PHASE: Body and head bright red, with a pink cast dorsally and an orange cast ventrally. Scale edges crisp and dark. A dark line runs from mouth along cheek scale row. Orange spots on head. A diffuse dark blotch at opercular angle and a diffuse white blotch on the caudal peduncle. Fins bright red. Caudal fin with bright blue posterior margin. JUVENILES: Mottled yellowish brown dorsally and ventrally, with a black lateral stripe and a pale stripe above and below that.
Size
Maximum size to 262mm TL.
Habitat
Mostly on rocky, algae-covered slopes from 10-25m.
Range
Southwestern Atlantic: endemic to Trindade Island off Brazil.
References
Pinheiro, H.T., J.L. Gasparini & I. Sazima. 2010. Sparisoma rocha, a new species of parrotfish (Actinopterygii: Labridae) from Trindade Island, south-western Atlantic. Zootaxa No. 2493: 59-65.