''Scarus tricolor'', also known as the tri-colour parrotfish or three-coloured parrotfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a parrotfish, in the family Scaridae. It has a wide

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

distribution.

Description

''Scarus tricolor'' is a greenish parrotfish which normally shows pinkish or yellowish tints on the posterior portion of its body and a purplish band just inside the margin of each lobe of the caudal fin. The females are dark grey to almost black shading to blue to bluish-green on the lower flanks, with black edging to the scales, a red tail fin, an orange

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

and sooty yellowish to orange

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two en ...

s. The terminal phase males are similar to those of ''

Scarus forsteni ''Scarus forsteni'', commonly known as the whitespot parrotfish, or Forsten's parrotfish, is a marine fish native to tropical areas in the western Pacific Ocean, where it lives in coral reefs and feeds on benthic algae Algae (; singular al ...

'', the most notable difference being that ''S. tricolor'' has a yellow inner pectoral axil.

Distribution

''Scarus tricolor'' is a widespread species in the Indian Ocean where it ranges from East Africa south to

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

, South Africa and east through Madagascar and the other tropical Indian Ocean archiplagoes through the eastern Indian Ocean into the western pacific Ocean as far east as

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

and Pitcairn. It is largely replaced by ''S. forsteni'' in the western Pacific although there is some overlap in the Philippines.

Habitat and biology

Scarus tricolor can be usually be found as individuals, although groups are sometimes recorded, in area where there is a dense growth of coral, normally on seaward reefs but also within lagoons. It occurs to depths of and it feeds on benthic algae. It is an

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

species which forms distinct pairs for spawning.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2329408 Scarus Fish of the Indian Ocean Fish of the Pacific Ocean Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker Fish described in 1847