Parrotfish are a group of fish species traditionally regarded as a family (Scaridae), but now often treated as a subfamily (Scarinae) or tribe (Scarini) of the wrasses (Labridae). With roughly 95 species, this group's largest species richness is in the Indo-Pacific. They are found in coral reefs, rocky coasts, and seagrass beds, and can play a significant role in bioerosion.
The Gonostomatidae are a family of mesopelagic marine fish, commonly named bristlemouths, lightfishes, or anglemouths. It is a relatively small family, containing only eight known genera and 32 species. However, bristlemouths make up for their lack of diversity with relative abundance, numbering in the hundreds of trillions to quadrillions. The genus Cyclothone is thought to be one of the most abundant vertebrate genera in the world.
Sparisoma is a genus of parrotfishes native to warmer parts of the Atlantic. FishBase recognizes 15 species in this genus, including S. rocha described from Trindade Island in 2010 and S. choati described from the East Atlantic in 2012. They are the most important grazers of algae in the Caribbean Sea, especially since sea urchins, especially Diadema, the other prominent consumers of algae, have been reduced in many places by a recent epidemic.
The Odacidae are a small family of ray-finned fishes commonly known as cales and weed whitings, formerly classified within the order Perciformes. They are related to the much larger families of the wrasses and parrotfish. More recent workers have classified this family within the order Labriformes, alongside the wrasses and parrotfishes, within the clade Percomorpha.
Brachyplatystoma is a genus of catfish from the family Pimelodidae. As the occasionally used common name goliath catfishes indicates, this genus includes some of the largest species of catfish, including the piraíba, B. filamentosum, which reaches up to 3.6 metres (12 ft) in length; though the other species don't reach this length. Brachyplatystoma are found in the Amazon and Orinoco basins, and other tropical freshwater and brackish habitats in South America. Many species are migratory. These fish are important as food fish and, to some extent, aquarium fish.
Plotosus is a genus of eeltail catfishes native to the Indian Ocean, the western Pacific Ocean and New Guinea.
Atherina is a genus of fish of silverside family Atherinidae, found in the temperate and tropic zones. Up to 15 cm long, they are widespread in the Mediterranean, Black Sea, Sea of Azov in lagoons and estuaries. It comes to the low stream of the Dnieper, Southern Bug, Dniester and Danube Rivers.
Scarus is a genus of parrotfishes. With 52 currently recognised extant species, it is by far the largest parrotfish genus. The vast majority are found at reefs in the Indo-Pacific, but a small number of species are found in the warmer parts of the eastern Pacific and the western Atlantic, with a single species, Scarus hoefleri in the eastern Atlantic. Most are very colourful, and have strikingly different initial and terminal phases. Adults of most species reach maximum lengths of between 30 and 50 cm (12–20 in), but the rainbow parrotfish can grow to lengths of 1.2 m (3.9 ft).
Galeichthys is a genus of sea catfishes in the family Ariidae, the only genus in the subfamily Galeichthyinae. It includes four predominantly marine species distributed in Southern Africa and northwestern South America:
Platax is a genus of Indo-Pacific, reef-associated fish belonging to the family Ephippidae. There are currently five known extant species generally accepted to belong to the genus. They are one of the fish taxa commonly known as "batfish".
Cirripectes is a large genus of combtooth blennies found throughout the Pacific and Indian oceans. Cirripectes biconvexus, an otolith based fossil species from the Burdigalian (Miocene) of southwestern India is probably the earliest record of this genus.
Clupea is genus of planktivorous bony fish belonging to the family Clupeidae, commonly known as herrings. They are found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Two main species of Clupea are currently recognized: the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring, which have each been divided into subspecies. Herrings are forage fish moving in vast schools, coming in spring to the shores of Europe and America, where they form important commercial fisheries.
Chlorurus is a genus of parrotfish from the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Hipposcarus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, parrotfish from the family Labridae. The two species in the genus are distributed in the Indo-Pacific. .
Calotomus carolinus, commonly known as Carolines parrotfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a parrotfish, in the family Scaridae. It is also known as the starry-eye parrotfish, stareye parrotfish, bucktooth parrotfish, Christmas parrotfish or marbled parrotfish. Since the Calotomus carolinus is known across the Pacific, it also has its own name in many native languages for example, it is called a panuhunuhunu in the Hawaiian language.
Calotomus zonarchus, commonly known as yellowbar parrotfish, is a species of parrotfish native to the waters of the Hawaiian Islands.
Calotomus viridescens, commonly known as the viridescent- or dotted parrotfish, is a species of parrotfish native to the waters of the Maldives and Red Sea, from the Gulf of Aqaba to south to the Chagos Archipelago. It was described by the German naturalist Eduard Rüppell in 1835.
Scarus quoyi, commonly known as Quoy's or greenblotch parrotfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a parrotfish, in the family Scaridae. It is native to the western Pacific Ocean, where it lives in coral reefs. The species can grow to a length of up to 40 cm.
Calotomus spinidens, the spinytooth parrotfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a parrotfish, in the family Scaridae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific from East Africa to Tonga and the Marshall Islands where it is found in seagrass and weaweedbeds located in coastal bays or deep lagoons.
Nicholsina is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, parrotfishes from the family Labridae. They are found in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific Oceans. The generic name honours the American ichthyologist John Treadwell Nichols (1883-1958) who was curator of fishes at the American Museum of Natural History.
