Scarus

<i>Scarus</i>

Scarus

Genus of fishes

Scarus is a genus of parrotfishes. With 52 currently recognised extant species,[3] it is by far the largest genus in this family. 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 (males and females) and terminal (males only) phases. Adults of most species reach maximum lengths of between 30 and 50 cm (12–20 in), but the rainbow parrotfish (Scarus guacamaia) can grow to lengths of 1.2 m (3.9 ft).[3]

Quick Facts Scarus Temporal range: Early Oligocene to Present, Scientific classification ...

Species

There are currently 52 recognised species in this genus:[3]

In political thought

In Cesare Ripa's Renaissance iconography, the scarus fish symbolised civil "Union," i.e. the joining of individuals into a collective body. Plutarch had written that scarus fish "swim together in shoals and ingeniously and heroically free each other when caught in a net." The scarus thus "denoted reciprocal assistance in the fight for survival."[4]

References

  1. [1]
    Sepkoski, J. (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Retrieved 25 December 2007.
  2. [2]
    Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Scaridae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  3. [3]
    Froese, R. and D. Pauly, Eds. Scarus. FishBase. 2013.
  4. [4]
    Hont, I. Jealousy of Trade: International Competition and the Nation-State in Historical Perspective. Harvard UP: 2005, pp. 21-22.
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